


Roads Go Ever On

by Geektaire



Series: MacDixons [3]
Category: Boondock Saints (Movies), The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Asexual Character, Asexuality Spectrum, Canon Compliant, Gen, Multi, Polyamory, Season/Series 05, Team Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-24
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2018-09-19 17:18:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 146,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9452003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geektaire/pseuds/Geektaire
Summary: Season 5 rewrite.





	1. No Sanctuary

**Author's Note:**

> Better late than never...no? I struggled a lot with this during the break, I was loosing some steam/inspiration, but well.. here it is, finally. Hope you guys like it, and please let me know if you do? You have no idea how the fact that someone is reading this keep me going. 
> 
> Thanks to I-msonotcreative and freefromthecocoon for their help doing beta work on this. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy.

**Chapter I**

**No Sanctuary**

 

Daryl could hear the big red headed asshole that had put his hands on his brother, Abraham, talk with Rick about something as he tried to calm his brother down. Connor had finally stopped crying, but he was still muttering to himself. He had moved at least, after Daryl’s legs had started to go numb with his weight on them. He was sitting beside Daryl, his legs still thrown over his lap as he rested his forehead against his brother’s chest. 

 

“Con,” Daryl whispered against his brother’s temple, “you gotta come back, please don’t leave me too.” Daryl couldn’t help but close his eyes, listening as everyone prepared around them. They were going to fight, they were going to get away from this. 

 

But was there something really out there after this? Had he imagined Murphy and Carol’s tracks all those days ago? And what about Carl? Michonne? Glenn and Maggie? Would they leave them behind with Rick? If they got out of this, should he take them and leave just Rick behind?

 

His head was throbbing, distracting him from the pain everywhere else on his body at the moment. 

 

“Daryl?” 

 

Daryl looked up to see Glenn standing a few feet away, looking at him sadly. Once Glenn knew he had Daryl’s attention , he took the remaining steps needed to reach him and crouch down in front of him. 

 

“I know this is hard, but we need you man…” he looked at Connor, “if we’re getting out of this, we need you both.”

 

“I know,” Daryl grumbled before sighing and turning his attention back to his brother. Everything disappeared then, anything other than Connor did not matter to Daryl. He had to get his brother back. 

 

“Con…” Daryl moved him back, grabbing onto the sides of Connor’s neck forcing his head up so he could look into his eyes. “I need you to come back to me, I need you to be able to fight this, I need you so we can go look for them… you can’t do this to them, you can’t do this to me.”

 

Connor blinked slowly, before he shook his head softly as if trying to get rid of whatever had taken hold of his mind. 

 

“I need you to fight with me, brother, I need you by my side.” Daryl continued to speak softly for Connor’s ears only, he rested his forehead against his brother’s. Connor closed his eyes, bumping his forehead against Daryl’s softly. 

 

“You back?” Daryl asked softly, moving to clasp Connor back in a tight embrace. Connor just nodded against his brother’s neck. He couldn’t speak yet, but he was ready. Connor sat back on his haunches, before standing up and putting his hand out for Daryl to grab. 

 

As soon as he did, Connor pulled him up and into another hug. This one was quick, and it seemed it was more to remind himself that he was still there more than anything else. Daryl waited until Connor’s eyes were on him again, before giving him a nod that his brother returned. 

 

Connor pulled out a small knife he had in his boot. 

 

Daryl grinned at his brother, grabbing him by the shoulder and shaking him slightly. They could barely see in the darkness that was the inside of the train car, but Daryl was sure he could see that glint on Connor’s eyes. The one he had seen only a couple of times… last night being one of them. 

 

“You ready?” Connor gave him a sharp nod, before he moved to stand at Daryl’s side. There was this feeling of being incomplete, without Murphy being there with them, but it was at the same time a thousand times better than before. It was like a part of his soul had been given back to him, now he just had to find the other two parts missing. 

 

“I need to talk to Maggie,” Daryl said softly, only for Connor to hear. “I need to tell her what happened to Beth, how I lost her…”

 

“It wasn’t your fault,” Connor spoke clearly for the first time since his breakdown a few minutes ago. “Daryl…”

 

Daryl gave his brother a sad smile, before moving away from him and approaching Maggie. Maggie that was kneeling in the middle of the train car, getting ready to fight. 

 

“Maggie…” she only looked up at him briefly, going back to what she was doing as he crouched beside her. “Beth…”

 

“She’s dead?” 

 

Shook his head, hiding his eyes behind his hair as he felt her eyes on him. “A black car, with a white cross on the back took her and Zach, I tried t followed it…” Daryl tried not to flinch when Maggie’s hand moved to take one of his, “I tried.”

 

“But she’s alive?” Maggie asked giving Daryl a sad smile as he finally looked at her. 

“She’s alive.” Daryl gave her a nod at that, returning the small squeeze on his hand with one of his own. 

 

“Daryl…” Maggie calling out his name stopped him from standing up as he was about to, his eyes turned to her only to find her looking nervous at him. “I’m sorry for not having said something sooner to Rick, I should have fought him harder about what he did to her… it wasn’t fair…”

 

Daryl shrugged, pulling his hand away as he stood up once more. There wasn’t anything he could say to her about that, he could rant that she should have, that she knew better… but he also knew Rick, and how he could just make people see things his way. He wasn’t sure how mad, or not he was at Maggie… but there were bigger things to worry about right then. Get out of this alive first, think about what to do about Rick later. 

 

They needed it to be a later after all. 

 

When Daryl went back to Connor’s side, Carl had beat him to it. The two of them were silently standing next to each other, not saying anything but at the same time Carl was saying a lot. He was siding with Connor over his old man, and as Daryl looked at where Rick was standing with his back to them trying to get a piece of wood lose so he could use as a weapon, he couldn’t help but feel more than respect for the young boy. 

 

Connor patted Carl on the back, and the boy left his side to join Michonne as soon as he made sure Daryl was not leaving again. They were all getting ready to fight, and together as one, Daryl and Connor made their way to watch through the space between the doors to spy outside.

 

They could see movement outside, they were coming. 

 

“Get ready, four of them pricks are coming our way…” Daryl nodded to Connor as they took a few steps back so they were closer together and ready for anything that might come through that door once it opened. Connor had his knife in his hand, and Daryl had his fist up. They were doing it, they were ready. 

 

“You all know what to do…” Connor didn’t look at Rick as walked in front of them, as everyone gathered around the door. “Go for the eyes first, then their throats.”

 

“You nervous, dear brother?” Connor asked Daryl softly, trying not to let memories take over him. Memories of him saying those exact same words to Murphy so many years before. 

 

“Get your backs to the wall, and away from the middle of the car… now!” Someone yelled at them from outside. 

 

“Nah,” Daryl said answering Connor’s question in time he moved from one foot to the other, the corner of his mouth rising a little. “Let’s fuck shit up.”

 

Connor was just returning the small smile when a hatch over their heads open, and something was dropped in the middle of the car. 

 

“Move!”  

 

Daryl grunted as he felt his brother weight bringing him down seconds before the tear gas made them impossible to breath. He could feel Connor patting his side, making sure he was alright as he started to heave as the gas sting his eyes. 

 

“Keep them closed, keep them closed…” Daryl could hear his brother repeating as Connor’s hands seemed to try and keep Daryl’s face covered from the gas as he continued to cough as he did so. 

 

The sound of the door opening, made Connor start to cough even more as he tried to stand as everyone laid down around them. He staggered onto his feet, trying to raise his hands as he saw a couple of men coming their way using gas masks. 

 

He was pushed aside as if he was nothing but a ragdoll. Connor hit side of the car hard, tumbling down as he stepped on Daryl as his brother laid behind him smaking his head as he went down. 

 

He was dizzy, he was coughing… and the men were looking down at him, shaking their head before they moved and grabbed Daryl by the arms and started dragging him out. 

 

“Daryl!” Connor whispered as his eyes were barely able to focus because of the gas, “Daryl?” His voice was stronger as he started to get back on his feet, “Daryl?!” He took a couple of steps closer to the door, “Daryl!”

 

The door was shut in front of his face. 

 

“Daryl!” The smoke had dissipated a little, he was barely able to breathe as he continued to yell for his brother. “Daryl!” He tried to grab onto the side of the door, pulling with all of his strength to try and open the door that would not move. “Daryl!” He could hear some whimpers behind him, but nothing else matter but the fact that his brother was on the other side of the door, and he wasn’t with him. “Daryl!”

 

Daryl heard his brother screaming for him as he was being dragged away from the car and dropped face first into the ground. He was still coughing as someone planted a foot on his back before they pulled his arms back and tied them together. His chest felt tight and he wasn’t honestly sure if it was because of the gas or because he was having a panic attack at being away from Connor once again. 

 

He grunted as the person on top of him didn’t care about not stepping on his arm as he moved from him to the next one, and as soon as he was able he tried to raise himself up to see what was going on. 

 

He could make Rick, and Glenn at his sides and he had to rest his head against the ground again when his vision started to swirl from lack of oxygen. He was panting so hard he was barely able to hear anything over his own breaths and the beating of his heart. He was still trying to breathe deep when he was suddenly pushed around, gagged and brought up on his feet.  

 

The moment he was on his feet he started to fight. He was not going to let them take him to his slaughter without trying to fight them. His head was still pounding, and his vision was still blurry but he tried to move away from the men grabbing his arms. 

 

They dropped him. They let him go and he crashed into to the ground face first, before one of those assholes kicked him in the side. The grunt of pain was muffled by the gag, and he wanted  nothing more than to fight back, but the pain from his broken ribs made him want to gag. They had kicked him in the same place he’d been kicked the night before… if the ribs hadn’t been broken before, they were sure broken now. 

 

He was still trying to pull himself together when the men took him by the arms and pulled him up again, dragging him following the other two men that had Rick with them. He could see what was going on around them, and he couldn’t help but make the sound of a wounded animal as he made sense of what he was seeing.

 

There were human bodies all around them, strung up as if it they were dead cattle. As if they were choosing the best parts like you would a cow. 

 

He felt as a bolt ran through his body as he was dropped on his knees, his breathing faster than he wanted it to be as he looked first to one side, and then to the other from where they had made him kneel at. It was some kind of tub, and there were men kneeling in line beside him. His eyes met Rick’s, and he wanted to shout.

 

He also wanted to cry. 

 

He felt as tears started to burn in his eyes as he looked up, to try and keep them from falling. He was not going to break down, he was not going to give them that pleasure. For the first time in a long time, Daryl did not think of ‘praying to his family’s God’. Daryl prayed directly to the entity  _ himself _ . He just kept on asking, asking not to be spared but for Connor to be. Not to not suffer, but for Connor to find Murphy and Carol again. Not to stay alive, but for the other three parts of him to do so….

 

A weird kind of calm came upon him, he wasn’t sure if it was because he was about to pass out or what. He could see a man with a bat and a butcher’s apron a little behind himself, doing something that looked like he was practicing his swing… and he just got even more calm. 

 

His eyes made contact with Glenn, and he wanted to weep again. His friend looked terrified, probably as much as he was right then; but that look on the boy’s face just made Daryl mad. 

 

A voice said the word, and the two men walked behind them to the side farthest from them. Daryl could only close his eyes and flinch when the first man, a blond boy barely older than Carl, was slaughtered in front of their eyes. 

 

They went down the line, one after the other. Each one of them getting the executioners closer to Glen. He pulled and pushed, he tried to dislocate his thumb to get his hands free but nothing worked. It was then when he felt something stab the side of his foot. He could feel the blood sweeping through his socks and into his boots. 

 

In that moment he realized Connor had been doing more than giving him a pat down. His brother had done what he knew best as they were both barely able to breath inside that car. He made sure his little brother had a fighting chance. 

 

Slowly, Daryl sat back on his legs and started putting his fingers inside the side of his boot. He’d hug his brother really tight the next time they’ll see each other… because there would be a next time because of his little thing. 

 

“Hey…” Daryl frowned as Gareth walked in not even looking at what was happening in front of them. “What are your shot counts?”

 

“38…” Daryl closed his eyes as the man hit another man, the one next to Glenn, on the head with the bat. He had the knife in between his hands and he had started to cut off the bonds on his feet. 

 

He tried to start on the bonds of his hands, cursing mentally as his knife slipped and cut his palm. He could feel Glenn tensing beside him, and he tried to do it faster. He was not going to do it in time… Daryl was about to jump up and do what he could…

 

“Hey!” Gareth looked at the man behind them like he was stupid, “the shot count?”

 

Daryl was trying to keep his attention on the man in front of him, but at the same time not let his guard down to the ones at his back. The man still had the bat up, and Daryl was about to jump up to avoid him hitting Glenn. But timing was everything. 

 

His hands were almost free. 

 

“Crap man, I’m sorry.” One of the men behind him said, as Daryl broke through his bonds. “Is my first round-up.” Daryl had to keep his arms tight against his back to avoid letting them know he was free. He needed the perfect opportunity now. If he did it right then, he would just be dying for nothing. 

 

He needed an opening. 

 

“Once you’re done here, you go back to your place and count the shots.” Gareth was obviously in charge, and no one seemed to even dared to say otherwise. There weren’t many people there with them now, but there were still enough to cause him problems. Especially armed with just Connor’s small knife. “Kaylee won’t be gathering them until tomorrow.”

 

“Hey!” Daryl tried to catch Glenn’s eyes as Bob yelled for Gareth from behind his gag. “Let me talk to you!”

 

Daryl watched as Gareth ignored him. “Four from A, four from B?” 

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Hey let me talk to you!” Bob muffled words were barely comprehensible through the gag. Daryl used that reprieve to close his eyes and center himself. The easiest thing would be to wait until they were back in position, when that man raised the bat again he would jump and knife him in the gut before turning and slamming the knife in the other man’s eye. 

 

He just hoped Gareth wasn’t packing. 

 

He thought of what Connor would do, he would come up with some outrageous plan that according to Murphy would never work out the way it should but at the end everything would be fine, like magic. Or divine intervention of the God his brother prayed so much to. 

 

Daryl was brought back out of his inner musings only to hear Bob speak to Gareth. “You don’t have to do this man, we can put the word back to where it was it.”

 

He shook his head, there was no going back now. There was no ‘back’ anymore. Nothing would ever be the same, just as the man before him was never going to let them go. No matter how much they begged, there was evil in the world and the men in the room with them were a prime example of it. 

 

They were eating people, for fucks sake. 

 

“Can’t go back, Bob.”

 

Daryl hated that he agreed with that asshole on something. Gareth stopped in front of Rick next, pulling out his gag and sitting back on his haunches. “Saw you going into the woods with a bag…” Daryl squinted his eyes at the man, wondering how they knew that if they hadn’t ‘seen’ them coming. Had everything been planned? Had they seen him and Connor and had they separated them in purpose?

 

That was probably their worst mistake out of them all. 

 

“... had to pull back my spotters before we went to look for it, what was in it?” Daryl looked over his shoulder moving as little as he could, the men were still there waiting for Gareth to finish before they carried on. “You hid it, right?”

 

They were all focused on the exchange between Gareth and Rick, so much that they hadn’t noticed him breaking free yet. He could lunge at Gareth, but from his kneeling position the man could move away before he got to him. He had to wait a little longer. He would make his own opening if he had to. 

 

“In case things went bad?” Daryl turned to glare at Gareth once again, sneering under his gag as the man didn’t even looked at him. “Smart… we’re still going to find them.”

 

“Fuck you,” Daryl muttered behind his gag, smiling slightly as Gareth finally looked at him. 

 

“But… it’s too dangerous to go out there right now…” Gareth moved and took Daryl by the back of the head and made him lean forward over the tub and pointed a knife he suddenly brought out to his eye. He had his right arm pulling him close, while he pointed the knife with his left. 

 

And just like that… Daryl got his opening. 

 

“What was in it?” Gareth said as he moved the knife slightly away, as he turned to look at Rick instead of keeping his attention on Daryl. That was a deadly mistake.

 

“I’m curio-” Gareth didn’t finish his next sentence. Daryl brought his arm over Gareth’s right and slammed his knife right in the man’s neck, twisting it to cause the most damage at the same time that he threw himself back and away from the knife to his eye. He was barely able to avoid losing his eye, the blade just nicking his eyebrow instead. 

 

The force that he used to throw himself back left him sprawled on the ground looking up at the man with the bat and the one with the knife. They were shocked for a moment, looking at where Gareth was now clutching his neck as blood seeped through his hands. 

Daryl leaned over and slashed at the men’s legs as he saw the first one, the one with the bat, react first and move to slam the bat down onto his head.  The man screamed in pain as he kicked at Daryl, his left eye burning as blood seeped into it. 

 

Seemed like that was everyone’s clue to start moving, as the other man made to try and stab Daryl on the ground, Glenn threw himself into his legs tripping him and making him fall. Glenn moved to keep the man down as best as he could in his condition, giving Daryl the chance to slit the man’s throat. 

 

Daryl then noticed that Rick had taken care of the man with the bat, and was already freeing Bob. Daryl did the same with Glenn, and the two of them were helping each other to their feet  when first one shot, followed by another was heard.

 

“What the fuck…” Daryl muttered as he stopped from where he was stashing knifes into his belt. Rick and him looked at each other, before they continued to arm themselves. 

 

The ground shook with the force of a roaring explosion, and Daryl couldn’t help but wonder what the hell was happening out there? 

 

-.-.-.

 

“Can you believe it? The dog is actually more silent than Murphy…” Zach threw a teasing smile over his shoulder at Carol and Murphy, who were walking side by side just behind him and Mika as they made their way over the train tracks. 

 

“That’s slander, lad, pure and utter slander.”

 

“Murph, he’s not wrong.” The small smile on Mika’s face made both Murphy and Carol smile in response. 

 

“I thought you were never going to agree with him about anything.” Tyreese added from where he was bringing up the rear, smiling at the small girl too. She was still looking pale, more pale than any of the grown ups were comfortable with her being.

 

“He’s not soooo bad.” Murphy moved forward quickly as he saw Mika trip, only stopping when he saw that Zach had quickly moved and steadied her. She was dragging her feet, and she was having a harder time that he was with her balance having one arm bandaged to her chest. 

 

“Watch it, squirt, it sounds like you’re starting to like me.”

 

Carol had a soft smile on her face, as she watched Zach continue to keep Mika occupied so she wouldn’t start thinking about what had happened. The boy had been a lifesaver, in more ways than one. 

“We’re getting closer,” Carol said to Murphy and Tyreese as they continued walking. 

 

“What’s the plan?” Tyreese asked as he lowered his voice so he wouldn’t be overheard by the kids in the front. “You’re just gonna leave us there and then take off?”

 

“Can’t…” Murphy answered, “we need to see to Mika, let Zach get some rest. Then…” he gave Carol a soft look, “then we’ll see about looking for Daryl.”

 

“We’ll ensure everyone is safe, and we’ll handle Rick.” They stopped as they reached one of the Terminus signs, Murphy moving his free arm to run a hand softly over Carol’s back, “and then we’ll find Daryl.” 

 

“If he doesn’t find us first…” Mika added as she moved to grab Carol’s free hand, smiling up to her. 

 

“He probably will,” Carol answered the unasked question softly, pulling the girl slightly to follow her as she started walking again. 

 

They had barely taken a couple of steps when something sounded behind them, making all of them turned to see. Carol felt as her heart started beating faster as they saw a lone walker make its way towards the tracks, turning and moving towards them once it saw them. 

 

Murphy moved to go get rid of it, but was quickly stopped by Carol’s hand in his arm. She gave him a stern look, smiling a little bit as he instead took Judith from her arms and into his. She didn’t even stopped to look at Tyreese, knowing the man was still not willing to do what it took to keep them safe. 

 

Something that she would never have an issue with doing, everything to keep her family safe. She was taking her knife out of the walker’s skull when she noticed them. There was a herd moving slowly towards them, she got to her feet putting a finger to her mouth to keep everyone quiet as she saw Murphy open his mouth to call her over. 

 

She watched as Zach, the other only ‘healthy’ member of their ground made sure Mika and then Murphy were able to climb up the small hill they moved to. Hiding behind trees as they waited to see if the walkers would walk past them, or if they would need to make a break for it. 

 

Carol had ended up crouching down beside Mika, sharing a concerned look over her head with Murphy. The walkers kept walking towards where they were, and Carol looked over at Zach, who was at Tyreese other’s side and closest to the danger. The boy looked terrified but at the same time she could see how he was clutching the knife in his hand. 

 

She stood up as she saw Zach take a small step towards the herd, a quick look towards her before he made to take another one. 

The sound of gunfire made the two of them drop down to a crouch once again. The fire sounded far away, but it was enough to draw the walkers away from them and towards the noise. They waited behind the treeline in silence, including both baby and the dog, as the herd shuffled along the rail tracks following the continuous gunfire. 

 

It wasn’t until the last walker was long gone, that they moved back towards the tracks. The herd had been of a size that would have cause them problems at the prison. Who even knew what Terminus was like?

 

“The gunfire…” Tyreese said clutching Judith, that he had taken from Murphy when his arm got tired, to his chest. “It could have been from Terminus.”

 

“Someone was attacking them,” Carol said frowning as she looked at Murphy. 

 

“Or they were attacking someone.” Murphy didn’t say anything she had not been thinking. 

 

“What are we going to do?” Mika’s fearful voice made all the adults stop and turn to look at her, she was looking tearful as her small hand clutched Zach’s with all of her strength. Zach looked lost, at least that’s the way Carol interpreted the look the boy gave her, just before he pulled Mika to his side comforting her. 

 

“I’m gonna keep you safe, squirt.” Carol smiled as she heard Zach mutter to the girl, “and Mama Carol, and Murph will make sure of that too, okay?” 

 

Mika nodded, before she moved to hug Zach’s middle and hid her face in his chest. 

 

“There’s another track, through the east it will also take us there.” Carol said as she looked at each of the men in front of her. “We’ll be really careful, but we need to know if they’re not there.”

 

The joyous mood had been lost, there was no banter and no laughs as they walked through the woods. Jumping at every sound, looking over their shoulders waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

 

Carol was the first one to see the car, signaling to the rest of them to wait as she approached it. A twig snapping behind her made her turn around, only to find out that Murphy had not stayed with the others. 

 

“Alex didn’t get it…” there was a man with a hat in the clearing, he was setting up what looked like fireworks while speaking on a radio, “I knew the chick with the sword was trouble, she looked like a weapon with a weapon.”

 

She could feel as Murphy tensed up at her back at the allusion of Michonne made by the man, there was no one else that could fill that description. Silently, as Daryl had taught her to, Carol made her way out of the woods and to the man’s back. 

“He was always a sloppy son of a bitch.” Carl glared at the man’s back as she heard him chuckle at the answer from the radio. 

 

“I told Albert I want the kid’s hat after they bleed them out.” He hadn’t been able to finish the sentence when Carol had already cocked her gun, and pointed it at the back of his head. He quickly put his hands up, showing her that didn’t have a weapon. 

 

“Keep your finger off the button and drop it.” Carol’s voice was filled with malice as she watched him to as she told. 

 

“They’re only doing eight before public face, don’t wait on it.” It was a woman on the radio, and Murphy moved to pick it up. Better to be safe than sorry. 

 

“Listen, ya’ll don’t have to do this.” The man was still smacking gum, and Carol wanted him to choke on it. 

 

“We’re friends with the chick with the sword and the kid in the hat, assface.” Murphy said as he sneered down at the man. 

 

The man looked up at him, and that was when Murphy knew. The look on the man’s face as he saw Murphy’s was a give away. 

 

“They have Declan.”

 

The man dropped unconscious seconds after those words were muttered. Murphy just looked from the man sprawled out at their feet to where Carol was standing after having pistol whipped him on the back of the head. 

 

“They have him.” Carol stated as she looked behind her, signaling Zach to come with everyone else. “We’ll get him back.”

 

Murphy looked sicken as the words from the man, and from the woman on the radio run through his head. He watched as Zach didn’t let Carol be the one to move the man, following silently behind everyone as they made their way inside the one room shack. 

 

Carol got some rope from her bag, moving to tie the man’s hands and feet using some of the knots Daryl had taught them before. 

 

“They have Carl, Michonne and Daryl, that we know off…” Carol sighed as she stood up turning to look at her companions, “I need to go and get them out.”

 

“What do you mean with I?” Carol’s eyes finally met Murphy’s. Murphy who was still looking sick, who had one arm that he could not use, and who was looking more angry than Carol had ever seen him. 

 

“There’s a herd going towards Terminus, I’m going to use it to get to them.”

 

“I think there’s a  _ we  _ somewhere in there that you missed, love.” Murphy was frowning, standing toe to toe with Carol glaring down at her. Carol didn’t back down, she returned the glare with the same intensity. 

 

“No.” Was all she said before she turned on her heels and started to go through the bag the man had had with him. 

 

“What do you mean with ‘no’?” 

 

Zach and Tyreese shared a look, as Mika hugged herself closer to Ty’s side her good hand moving to grab onto Judith’s as they all watched the two of them.

 

“Murphy…” Carol turned around again, pulling the bag across her chest. She took a step closer to Murphy, flinching when he moved back just as she was about to touch his cheek. 

 

“No!” Murphy’s eyes were filled with tears, “that’s Declan! That’s my brother out there!”

 

“You’re hurt, Muffin,” Carol’s voice was filled with pain, her eyes full of tears just as his. “You would be more of a liability than help, I need to know you’re safe.”

 

“You’re fucking crazy if you think I’m going to -” Carol staggered down as she caught Murphy’s weight as he fell forward, his eyes rolling back into his head. 

 

“Sorry,” Zach muttered as he helped Carol lie Murphy down on the floor, her hands touching the back of Murphy’s head, fluttering all over his neck feeling better once she realized his pulse was strong under her hand. “That was the only way I could think of.”

 

Carol looked at Zach bewildered, he had pistol whipped Murphy into unconsciousness so he would be safe. 

 

“He’s going to kick your ass when he wakes up.” Carol said softly as she pushed some of Murphy’s hair out of his face, before moving to plant a small kiss on his lips. 

 

“He can try.” Zach smiled at her softly as he moved to walk with her towards the door. “I would go with you, but…” he didn’t need to say more, the fact that both Mika and Murphy were injured, together with Tyreese´s inability to protect their own meant someone had to stay and look after them. 

“I know.” 

 

Zach watched as Carol moved to Mika, telling the girl something so softly they were unable to hear it from a few feet away. The girl looked panicked, before a calmness appeared on her face, a look of determination on it too. 

 

Carol barely gave Tyreese anything other than a nod before she moved towards the door. 

 

“I’ll walk you out.” 

 

“Be careful of that man,” Carol said checking her rifles again as she stood just off the shack’s porch. “He’s tied up, but even then...”

 

Zach nodded, looking from the open door back to Carol who was looking at the woods. 

 

“Take care of them?” Carol asked Zach with a smile, to what Zach’s only answer was to hug her close to him. 

 

“Please come back to us,” Zach whispered on her ear before planting a kiss on her cheek. “Be safe, Mama Carol.”

 

And with another sad smile, she was gone. 

 

Zach came back into the shack, closing the door behind him as he looked at where Mika had moved to put something under Murphy’s head for him to use as a pillow. 

 

“He’s gonna kick my ass, isn’t he?” Zach muttered, as he moved to kneel beside Mika helping her settle beside the unconscious Irishman. 

 

“Yep.”

 

“Maybe I should tie his arms and feet.”

 

“He’s still gonna kick your ass.”

 

“Fuck.”

 

.-.-.-.-.

 

Carol didn’t lose any time. As soon as she left the shack, and half of her heart behind in it, she moved through the woods at a pace that was only fueled by the simple thought of someone harming Daryl before she could do something. 

 

Just as Murphy had said, the man’s reaction was confirmation enough to know that Daryl was at least with Michonne and Carl in terminus. And he was in danger. She was not losing anyone else, neither her nor Murphy would be able to take it if something were to happen to Daryl. 

 

So she was going to make sure nothing did. 

 

She had left Daryl’s poncho behind in the woods, exchanging it for an old tarp that had been on the bag. She hunted a lone walker that was trying to join the herd, killed it and used its insides to smear it all over the tarp. Hopefully it would be enough. 

 

She looked at the sky, there was not a cloud in the sky. Fortune could be on her side in that sense, and it would stay like that… not to repeat what had happened to Glenn and Rick that first time so long ago in Atlanta. 

 

Her face was last, smeared with mud. And then she looked at the sky one last time, closed her eyes and prayed. 

 

And after that, she went to get the other half of her heart back. 

 

She walked until she found a fence, and then it was easy from there. Walkers moved slowly around her, and warily she looked just to make sure her camouflage was holding. It was. 

 

“Back to the walls at either end of the car, now!” 

 

She continued her slow pace, as much as she wanted to rush and see what was going on she knew she needed to stay calm and collected. Their lives counted on it. She winced as she heard the tear gas go off, as she moved around one of the walkers stuck on a pike to get a better look at what was happening down there. 

 

She got there just in time to see them drop Daryl on the ground face down. Her ears started to ring as everything around her disappeared as she saw him struggle against the men keeping him down. He was there, he was alive, he wasn’t gone yet. 

 

She was going to get him out. 

 

Carol watched as men carried first Rick, then Glenn and then Daryl away; following them along the fence as far as she could. Her heart was beating fast as she watched them drop Daryl on his face on purpose, the need to harm those men becoming even bigger as she watched as they kicked her Daryl on the side. 

 

They were definitely going to die. 

 

With a heavy heart she saw as Daryl disappeared into one of the buildings, and she continued to follow the fences. She needed to find the entrance, she needed to find the weak spot. 

 

The weak spot appeared right in front of her a few minutes later. They were using a system similar to what they had been using at the prison, kill the walkers at the fences through them. There was one thing that they had that they didn’t at the prison. A huge propane tank right next in her sights. 

 

“Just hope it’s full…” Carol muttered to herself as she looked through the scope of her rifle, pulling back as she heard the yells from the people working the fences. Her friends had finally arrived, and the size of the herd was enough to give her the cover that she needed. 

 

She prepared the second part of her plan before she shot the tank. She took out one of the fireworks that had been on the bag, and used her second rifle as a base. It was so farfetched that if it worked, she would never stop thanking Saint Cronan, Connor’s patron saint, for the help. 

 

And Connor would have been so proud of her for coming up with something like this.

 

Her first two shots just ricochet from the tank. It isn’t until her third shot, the one that hits in one of the rusted strips she was aiming for, that the propane starts escaping. And then, it’s showtime. 

 

She lights up the fireworks, and she covers her ears. She can’t help but smile when the ground shakes at the strength of the explosion. It’s time to get her people out. 

 

She joins the herd as it advances towards the now broken fences of Terminus. She shuffles along the walkers, never fearing for her life as she has only one thought on her mind. 

 

She’s getting what’s left of her family back. 

 

.-.-.- 

 

Zach and Mika shared a look as they watched the column of smoke rise into the air. 

 

“The smoke is black, so it means is burning,” Mika said softly as her good hand grasped Zach’s. He smiled down at her, noticing that she was shivering and pull her closer to him. 

 

Carol hadn’t been gone long, Murphy was still out but the man they had captured had woken up not so long ago. He was currently glaring at Tyreese as the older man looked apologetically at him. 

 

Zach had taken the liberty to gag the man while he was asleep, there was no need for that asshole to even say one word towards Mika. Zach had glared at him until he broke eye contact when he had dared to even look at her. 

 

He had promised Carol that he would take care of them, and he was going to do so. Even if that meant that he had had to tie Murphy’s feet together, and his ‘good’ hand to the wooden table. He really hoped Murphy took longer to wake, because he was sure that short of sitting on top of him he was not going to be able to keep him with them. 

 

And yet, he was not going to fail his Mama Carol. He was going to keep Murphy safe, he had failed Daryl, but he was not going to fail a second time. 

 

He heard Murphy starting to groan, and Zach’s eyes met Mika’s. 

 

Showtime. 

 

-.-.-.-

 

“Connor!” Carl was pulled back by Michonne as he tried to approach Connor, who was still banging his fists against the door, hoarse, as he tried to find a way to pry the door open. “Connor!” Connor was still not stopping. 

 

Carl pulled away from Michonne, too quick for her, and threw his arms around the man’s waist from the back. “Come back, please!”

 

Michonne was ready to pull Carl back at the first sign of Connor reacting badly, she had seen him after all how he got with Rick a few hours before. But as usual, the Irishman surprised her. She watched as Connor just let his arms drop to his sides, his forehead hitting the closed door with a tud. His chest was going up and down, and Carl was still latched onto him like he was his lifeline. 

 

And maybe in a way he was. 

 

“It’s okay lad,” Connor whispered, his voice raspy as he patted Carl’s hands softly, “‘s okay.”

 

Carl pulled back to allow Connor to turn around, and the two shared words that Michonne as unable to hear. But after a short hug, Connor’s eyes found hers in the dark. They were going to get out of there. 

 

Everyone looked in shock, mostly the newcomers, as Connor started to move from one side of the car to the other, blood was dripping from his hands to the floor. Smearing it everywhere he touched. 

 

He finally stopped in the middle of the car, he looked up, and he smiled. The hatch that they had used to throw the grenade at them hadn’t been closed properly. 

 

They were getting out, and he was going to get his brother back. 

 

-.-.-.-

 

“What the fuck is going on?!” Daryl picked up the radio from where the sound was coming from, before looking at the men around him. The four of them were ready, armed as well as they could with what they found around them. They had left the three men to turn, under Rick’s suggestion. 

 

They had people to get free. 

 

Daryl breathed as they made their way through the compound, trying not to fret at every minute that he spent away from his brother. He covered Rick’s back, he helped Bob along, but all the time his mind was back in that train car. 

 

He knew Connor, his brother would be sick with worry. Either that or he had gotten himself into even more trouble. And he couldn’t let anything happen to Connor because of him, nothing. 

 

There were a lot more walkers than he expected. It seemed like a herd had used that same explosion that they had heard to make their way inside terminus. The screams of the residents as they were torn apart did nothing for him this time around, not after having seen what they were capable off. 

 

A flash of silver from the corner of his eye made him turn, but before he was able to try and see what it was he was pulled back by Glenn. Only to have a bullet hit exactly on the spot he had just been standing on. 

 

“That was close…” Bob muttered, only to raise his hands in innocence as Daryl glared at him. 

 

“We need to get back there,” Rick said as he looked around the corner, “we need to make sure everyone gets out.”

 

Rick motioned them to follow him, and Daryl threw a last look at where his attention had been before. He sighed, and followed everyone towards the general direction where the rest of their family was. 

 

He would have time to think about that later. 

 

-.-.-.

 

Carol swore she had seen Daryl for a moment. 

 

It hadn’t been that hard to infiltrate the camp. People were running around killing walkers and trying to escape, too focused on what they thought it was that they never saw her coming. They were dead before they realized that she was there. 

 

She had lost count of how many she had killed by then, she would probably regret it later. But at that moment, no one was going to stand in her way. No one would keep her away from getting Daryl back, from getting Murphy his remaining brother back. 

 

More than once he had been too close to comfort, A ricocheting bullet, a guard that decided to take a shot at a walker just beside her, a walker realizing she wasn’t one of them. But so far, she had gotten lucky. She had been protected by one of Connor’s saints as she made her way through a feat that should have probably brought her demise. 

 

She had even gotten a chance to get Daryl’s crossbow back. Weighted down by the stolen weapons that she was bringing back to their rightful owners, she made her way through some kind of chapel place. 

 

And in there she had met  _ her _ . 

 

Carol had done many things she wasn’t proud in her life, but protecting her family would never be one. She had learned that from Daryl and Connor. She would kill every single living being if that meant her family was alive and safe. And if that meant that she had to torture, to shoot people that deserve it, so be it. 

 

She had definitely deserved it. Her words before Carol gave her a merciful dead that she did not deserved would haunt her for a long time. “You could be one of us,” she had said as she chuckled just before Carol shot her on the head. 

 

She could have, but she wasn’t. Because she was only doing out of love of her family, and only for that. 

 

It was after she left that room that she wandered a little in some sort of trance. The walkers were still not paying attention to her, and it seemed like the living were long gone by then; gunfire coming in small burst and far away from her. 

 

In that trance she swore she saw a vision among the burning, among the dead… Connor was standing there. 

 

Carol’s breath was taken away and tears blurred her vision. 

 

And as quickly as he appeared, he was gone. 

-.-.-.

 

“Mika, sweetheart, please come and untie me?” 

 

Murphy glared at Zach once again when Mika shook her head, hiding her face against the boy’s side where they sat a few feet away from where he was. Zach had tied him to a desk that was so old it was actually sturdy and he couldn’t break the leg apart by tugging at his arm, and it was too heavy for him to move. Ty had decided to take a nap using the opportunity that was given them by the fact that Judith had fallen asleep inside the cooler they were using as her crib. 

 

His feet were also tied together, and with one of his arms busted, he was truly stuck. He had to keep himself centered, he had never liked being bound. 

 

“Come on, man!” Murphy started tugging at his restraints once again, a growl of anger escaping his lips. He tried not to look at Mika who seemed actually somewhat scared of him. He just had to get out of there. He had to go help Carol. “Why? Please?” 

 

He has tried to contain them, but as he slumped in defeat against the desk, he finally let his tears of frustration fall down his cheeks. Murphy didn’t open his eyes until he felt a little hand on his cheek wiping away his tears. 

 

“It’ll be alright, Muffin,” Mika said softly as she gave him a toothy smile, “Mama Carol will come back, but you’re hurt, Muffin, we can’t lose you too.” Her eyes were filling with tears, and her voice wavered at the last word. 

 

And Murphy had nothing to say against that. He looked up at Zach and gave him a nod, raising his hand waiting for the boy to cut the zip ties he had used to keep his hands together. And as soon as he was free he used his arm to hug Mika close to him, settling down once and for all. 

 

The weight of the little girl on his chest, as she draped herself over him kept him somewhat calm. Zach gave him a grateful smile. “I’m still gonna kick your ass, my head is killing me.” 

 

Zach couldn’t help but chuckle at Murphy’s words. “Mama Carol will protect me from you.”

 

“The hell she -” The sound of walkers slamming against the cabin’s door made everyone jump in alarm, their eyes turning to look as three walkers tried to push against the dirty windows seemingly attracted by the noise they had been making. 

 

“Hey!” Tyreese indignant yell made them turn around, just to see that the man they had had as a prisoner, had somewhat gotten the jump on Tyreese and had gotten his hands that he had gotten to give just a little around Judith’s neck. 

 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Murphy muttered as he slammed his head against the wooden wall, pushing at Mika so the girl would stand. 

 

The man had his hands around Judith’s neck, ready to either choke her or try to snap her little neck. The fact that the girl was inside a cooler, and he had to keep everyone in his sights putting him in an awkward position, one that was definitely going to be favorable to them.

 

That and the fact that the fucking one eye dog was baring his teeth at the man and growling like there was no tomorrow.  

 

“Put your weapons in the ground and kick them to me, right now!”

 

“Bollocks, are you kidding me?” Murphy stood up, pushing on the wall to get to his feet. Looking at the panicking man who moved closer to Judith, to Tyreese and then finally to Zach. 

 

“Now!” The man moved his hands as if he was actually going to do something, and Murphy just shook his head. 

 

“Mika, princess…” his eyes never left the man’s, Murphy’s words were tender but his eyes were murderous. “Please go and wrap yourself around Zach, don’t look, alright.”

 

“I’m going to do it, don’t think I’m not.” The man yelled again, looking warily from Murphy to the dog and back to Murphy. Mika whimpered as the walkers slammed against the cabin once again. “Are you ready to have a little girl’s dea-”

 

The man’s words were interrupted as the dog jumped, latching his teeth to the man’s arm just as a shot rang out, having him slumping back and away from Judith just as the baby and Mika started to cry in earnest. 

 

“I’m sorry asskicker,” Murphy muttered as he moved quickly, using his one good arm to pull Judith out of the cooler and into his chest, his gun back in the back of his pants by then. The dog wagged his tail, his snout filled with blood as he moved to Murphy’s side. 

 

“Mangy little shit,” there was a lot of fondness in Murphy’s words as he looked down at the ugly mutt.  

 

Tyreese looked like he was going to pass out as his eyes didn’t leave the body of the dead man in front of him. Murphy glared at him before he started trying to shush the crying baby as he made his way to the crying preteen. 

 

“You okay, princess?” Murphy tried not to groan too much as he crouched down by Mika, huffing when he ended up sitting on his ass as the girl moved from Zach’s arms to his chest in a heartbeat. To make it worse, he could feel the fucking dog joining them not too long after. 

 

Zach motioned him towards the walkers outside, and Murphy covered the girl’s ears as best as he could as Zach shot them through the door and windows. 

 

The only sounds after those three shots were the still crying girls on his arms. At least there was one less problem to worry about. 

 

-.-.-.-

They had been in the middle of their breakout when the explosion almost made their man made tower collapse. The ceiling was too high for him just to get someone on his shoulders, so he had ended up roping both Tara, a new kid he had just met, and Abraham to help him with that. The asshole that had put him into a hold earlier that day was built as a brick house so he was able to help him get Tara high enough for her to open the hatch. 

 

They had almost dropped her when the ground shook with the force of the explosion. Tara was able to hang onto the open latch with the tips of her fingers, using the distraction to get out unseen. 

 

It was moments later when the gunfire started, just as Tara opened the door of the car for them. 

 

“We need to find the others,” Connor yelled as he made sure everyone got out before exiting himself. “That’s our priority.”

 

“Our priority is to get Eugene out of here, and into safety,” Abraham answered getting into Connor’s face as he tried to move away from the group. 

 

“Are you fucking kidding me? I’m not leaving my fucking brother out there asshole,” Connor spat on Abraham’s face, pushing at the man’s chest. “If you and your assholes want to leave, so be it, I’m finding my brother and the rest of our family before we even think of leaving.”

 

Connor didn’t wait to see if the man followed or not, with a look at Maggie and Michonne behind him he started running towards one of the buildings, weary as they heard the sound of moaning from the walkers that seemed to be taking over Terminus. 

 

“We need to get some more weapons,” Connor said his voice low as he watched with satisfaction how Abraham brought in the rear of their group. “We need to stay together, arm ourselves, get the others and get the fuck out of here.”

 

Connor was pushed down by Maggie as she slammed the piece of wood she had as a weapon on a walker’s head. Connor just nodded at her before he signaled at everyone to follow him. 

 

They moved as fast as they could, using the cover of the buildings to stay away from the humans. Killing as many walkers as they were able to. 

“We have to leave, Connor.” Michonne told him as soon as they had killed the latest two walkers, “there are too many, we need to head back and into the woods.”

 

“Just one more, Mich, I can’t…” Michonne nodded, pushing him along towards the next building. 

 

Only to have him run straight into Daryl’s chest as he was cutting a corner as they all ran back towards where the rest of them where. Daryl’s momentum sent the two of them tumbling down, with Daryl putting his knife to Connor’s throat as they both hit the ground. Only to drop it and pull his brother into a tight hug. It didn’t matter that they were in the middle of a flaming walker herd, or that there were gunfire all around them. 

 

They were back with each other. 

 

“As touching as this is, can we fucking get out of here?” The booming voice of Abraham finally seemed to snap Connor out of is stupor, as he jumped to his feet pulling Daryl up as well. 

 

He took a quick inventory of his brother, how bloody he looked but how it didn’t appear to be all his. Daryl seemed to be doing the same, before he pulled out another knife and gave it to Connor before the two of them turned to run back towards the rest of the group to help them cover their escape. 

 

Connor couldn’t help but feel as if someone was watching him, looking over his shoulder and only seeing flames and walkers. 

 

Daryl calling out his name made him hurry along. 

 

-.-.

 

There was nothing left for her inside Terminus. She had looked everywhere she could and she had not find them, so with a heavy heart and both Daryl’s crossbow and Michonne’s sword she left the burning building behind and went back into the woods. 

Her only chance would be to try and use what little she had learnt from Daryl and track them, that or just hope that somehow Daryl ran into her tracks and recognize them. But since luck hadn’t been on their side lately, she didn’t really have a lot of hope for that. 

 

Her camouflage was still working fine, as she walked between the walkers that were trying to get into terminus. Her path was free once she hit the forest, and she was quick to get rid of the bloody tarp. The smell feeling like it was going to be stuck in her sinuses forever. 

 

She washed as best as she could on the first stream she crossed, and from there she jogged as best as she could towards the midway mark. Towards where she had left Daryl’s poncho and her bag behind. 

The rustling of leaves made her slow down her steps, the sound of voices made both her heart speed up and her stomach revolt. 

 

She had found them.

 

-.-.-

 

Whatever feelings Connor had felt back in terminus, they were quickly forgotten. With him and Daryl watching everyone’s back, they were able to get everyone safe and sound back to the fences, jumping it just in time for part of the herd try to follow them through the same path. 

 

As soon as they were on the other side Daryl took point, tracking down their old steps to try and get back to the bag with their guns they had hidden. Back to what they had left there as collateral. 

 

“Fuckers got my bow,” Daryl muttered at Connor, as the two of them walked practically shoulder to shoulder, never moving far from the other. 

 

“We’ll find you another one, promise.” Daryl couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head at his brother. He stopped, though, when Connor’s hand on his shoulder make him do so. “Are you okay? The blood?” 

 

Daryl looked over at the rest of the group, they had fanned out and were scouting the area but him and Connor were still a little ahead of them. He touched the small wound on his eyebrow, before shaking his head “not mine. You?” Daryl took notice of Connor’s bleeding hands, a couple of his fingers were without fingernails. “Need to get that cleaned up.”

 

Connor shrugged, crossing his arms so he could hide his hands under his armpits in a gesture that Daryl had seen so many times on himself, but never on his older brother. Without saying anything else, Daryl just threw an arm around Connor’s shoulders and pushed him to continue ahead of everyone else. 

 

They were together, at least there was that. That and he never saw any trace of Carol or Murphy having been in Terminus, he just hoped that they had never even gotten close to that place. 

 

“Here,” Daryl said to Rick, leaving Connor and moving to where Rick had hidden the shovel between the fallen leaves. He threw it to Rick, and turned to look back at Connor. His brother wasn’t looking so good, and he was not going to lose him after all that. 

 

“What the hell are we stopping for?” Abraham said as he stopped a few feet behind them, Daryl still owed that man a beat down for having touched his brother a few hours before. No one touched one of Daryl’s brothers without a consequence

 

“Guns, some supplies….” Rick continued to dig into the ground looking for the bag. 

 

Daryl looked from Rick to Connor, patting his brother on the back when he crouched down and rested his back against a tree. They had been through fucking hell the last 24 hours. 

 

“We go along the fences, we use the rifles.” Daryl shook his head as he continued to pat Connor’s head, looking at everyone around them. Everyone looked done with the place, tired, hungry. They needed to regroup away from that awful place. “Take out the rest of them.”

 

“What?” Bob asked as he took a step forward, giving Daryl a panicked look. 

 

“Rick,” Daryl started, shaking his head in denial as Rick looked at him sharply. “Look at us man, we need rest, we need to get the fuck out of here.”

 

“They don’t get to live.”

 

Glenn looked at Daryl and Connor, before looking at Maggie who nodded at him. “Rick we got out, it’s over.”

 

“It’s not over until they’re all dead.”

 

“ _ No mames, guey, _ ” Rosita yelled as she looked at the sky, not noticing the fact that Connor had chuckled at her words, “the hell it isn’t, that place is on fire, full of walkers.”

 

“I'm not dicking around with this crap,” Abraham said as he started to look around for people to follow him. “We just made it out.”

 

Rick got on his feet, and Maggie took a step forward, her hand searching Glenn’s. “We just made it out, their fences are down, if they don’t run they’ll die.”

 

“And Daryl killed their leader, any of them that survived won’t know what to do.” Glenn added a moment later. 

 

Daryl was no longer paying attention to them, his hand still running through Connor’s hair, his attention was taken by the sound of a branch breaking behind him. 

 

The last thing he thought he would see was there when he turned. 

 

The world slowed down for a moment, he could hear his heartbeat on his ears as he took off running towards were Carol was standing. She looked apprehensive, but the moment he got close enough she dropped everything she had on her shoulders and allowed him to take her into his arms. 

 

He had never felt complete until the moment she was back in his arms. They were barely touching when the words that hadn’t left his mouth all those days ago made their presence known. He had just taken in enough air to be able to speak those words to her, like a mantra that would save him from everything he had endured.

 

“I love you, I love you, I love yo-” 

 

He was unable to finish his third confession when the two of them were tackled into the ground. Daryl was barely able to turn, making sure Carol landed on top of him, getting the brunt of the weight of two of the most important people on his life.

 

-.-.-.

 

She hadn’t had eyes for anyone but him. Daryl’s back was to her, all she could see was his shaggy hair and his angel wings. And just from that alone she felt like crying. She must have made some kind of sound, because suddenly there was silence and the next thing she knew was that he was there. 

 

His arms were tight around her, and she felt like she could breathe a little bit better. And then she heard him. His words just made the tears on her eyes fall faster as he muttered against her ear once and again those words she had never expected to hear from him. 

 

“I love you, I love you, I love yo-”

 

The air was knocked out of her lugs as she landed on top of Daryl on the forest floor. Her first instinct was to fight, she had to protect her Daryl; she had after all promised Murphy she would bring him back. 

 

But then the other set of arms around her tightened, and they hugged her in a way there was just one person in the world did. Everything came rushing back right then, his smell, the feeling of his lips on her cheeks, his muttered words between kisses. 

 

_ Connor. _

 

-.-.-

 

The moment Connor felt Daryl’s hand leave his head he looked up,only to see his brother running towards something. The alarm bells on his head made him stand up and take a step to follow. 

 

When his brother threw his arms around the person in front of him, Connor felt like his legs were going to stop working. His heart was beating as he stumbled a few step closer to where Daryl was hugging Carol, before suddenly he found a burst of strength and just rammed into the side of the two of them. 

 

He didn’t even know how they ended up like they did, all he knew was that he couldn’t get enough of her. He couldn’t stop touching her back, her hair, the side of her face. His arms moved to hold her to him, and the spell seemed to break. 

 

“Connor?” Carol’s voice sounded so small, as tears fell down her cheeks as she looked at him in wonder. She was looking at him like he was the most precious thing that she had ever seen in her life, her chest was heaving as she seemed to try to get enough air into her lungs but she was unable to. One of her hands, shaking, made it’s way until she was cupping the side of his face. 

 

“Connor?” Connor just smiled at her, unable to say a thing as he felt his throat closing up with unshed tears. “Oh, Connor.” 

 

It wasn’t until the third time she said his name, that she seemed to believe what was in front of her. The hand that had been on his cheek sneaked into his hair, that she used to pull him close to hear. A messy desperate kiss, that soon changed from him to Daryl. Daryl that was still lying under the two of them on the ground floor. 

 

But neither of them cared, as Carol just said their names over and over again, her hands touching their faces as she moved to kiss one and then the other. There was nowhere they would rather be. 

 

And of course it was then when Dick Grimes came into the equation. 

 

“Carol?”

 

It was like something primal had taken over Connor in that moment. He had barely been able to stop earlier that day, he wasn’t sure he would this time around. In one jump he was on his feet, standing protectively in front of Carol who Daryl had started to pull up. 

 

“Carol?” Rick asked again, taking a step closer to them before stopping as Connor stood his ground. A growl seemed to be emanating from the Irishman chest, and Rick’s hand twitched over his python. 

 

“Carol?” Carl’s voice asked from behind his father, before he pushed his way from behind him past Connor and threw his arms around Carol. “I missed you so much,” Carl said softly to her as he squeezed her as tight as he could. 

 

That seemed to break the spell, one by one the members of their family moved past Rick, past Connor and greeted Carol back. Connor never taking his eyes from Rick, Daryl never letting go of Carol’s hand. 

 

They were a unit, and they were going to survive this. 

 

“You did that?” Rick asked, after Glenn finally let go of Carol and she moved to stand next to Connor. Her free hand, the one that was not on Daryl’s, moving to Connor’s. 

 

“Calm down, Cookie,” Carol whispered only for Connor’s ears. “I’m here, I’m alive, we’re alright.” Connor shook his head his chest constricting as he remembered what had happened earlier that day, what he had found out from Maggie, the feeling of having failed her he had felt the moment he knew what Rick had done. Connor took a deep breath, turning his head to rest his forehead against Carol’s. Nothing else mattered though, she was there with him, she was back with them.

 

She gave him a sad smile, before standing on her tiptoes and kissing his forehead. He would not be ending Rick Grimes’ life that day, maybe not ever; but he would never forget that he had almost costed him his family. Never.  

 

“You guys have to come with me, there are a few people you will like to see.”

 

-.-.-

 

Judith finally cried herself to sleep well after Mika had, the girl’s body still fighting with the damage her sister had caused her not so long ago. Zach had basically forced Tyreese to help him with the bodies outside, as well with the few stragglers that had made their way towards the cabin following the sound of Zach’s shooting. 

 

Murphy had been left with the girls and the dog, left to fret over the fact that Carol was yet not back and it had been well over an hour since she had left. His head was still hurting, and all he really wanted was to lay down in Carol’s arms and sleep. 

 

But he guess he would sleep when he was dead.  

 

Murphy laid his head against the wooden wall and sighed, his heart still hurt every time he thought of his brother, and he guessed it would continue to do so for the rest of his life. He still woke up every time thinking of telling him something, or there was this ingrained need to look for him whenever he entered a room; something that he would have to teach himself out of doing. 

 

There was no going back, as much as he would want to. His life forward now was Carol, looking for Daryl and the kids. Mika, Judith and Zach. Carl if they ever find them. Murphy grunted when he thought of the boy he thought as one of his kids being nothing but okay. 

 

Zach and Tyreese came back in, quietly closing the door behind them. 

 

“It’s been too long,” Tyreese murmured as he moved to take the sleeping Judith into his arms. “She should have been back by now.”

 

“There are more walkers around than before,” Zach added, moving to wake up Mika softly before putting his hand to help Murphy stand up. “We’ll have to move soon.”

 

“She’ll find us,” Murphy muttered absent minded as he moved to gather their things around, there was a need to have everything together in case they needed to run. They had scattered too much if it came to that. “She always does.”

 

“She learned from the best.” Murphy looked at Zach fondly, nodding at him before moving to open the door. He was going to get them settled somewhere else, and then he would go and find his woman. Even if it was the last thing he did before joining Connor with their maker. 

 

-.-.-.

 

Carol couldn’t help but look at Connor in wonder. 

 

It wasn’t that she wasn’t completely over the moon that Daryl was there with her too, but they had known Daryl was still out there, that they would eventually meet again. But Connor? They had grieved him, they had thought him gone from their lives for good. 

 

The three of them moved together across the forest, Connor’s arm was around her shoulders and Daryl’s was around her waist. It was completely impractical but from the moment they had started to move everyone towards where she had left the rest of their family, the farthest apart they had been was holding hands. 

 

Never truly letting go of the other. There would be time to catch up, she had given them a quick version of things as she tried to keep Connor from attacking Rick once again. How she had ran over Murphy, how they had found Tyreese and the girls, how Lizzie was gone, and how Zach had found them. 

 

The look on Maggie’s face as she told her that no, Beth wasn’t with Zach and he had no idea she had been taken, had broken her heart once again. Another child lost, another innocent life destroyed by the world they now lived in. 

 

Connor had still not let Rick come any closer to her, Carl would come and go, hovering just on the outside as if wanting to have his turn at holding her but then going back to his dad and Michonne. If she had been someone else, the look on Rick’s face when she told him Judith was alive would have made her gloat with satisfaction. They had saved the life of the daughter of the man that had tried to kill her, of the man that had tried to keep her away from her own family. 

 

But she was better than that, she had given him a small smile, she might forgive him but she would never forget; they would never forget. 

 

She had retrieved her bag, and the poncho. Watching in satisfaction as Daryl immediately shrugged it on, a smile on his face as he touched the fabric before trying to inconspicuously give it a sniff. 

 

“I might have used it as my own,” Carol said softly as she pushed her shoulder into his, earning a grunt and a low chuckle in return. “Made me feel closer to you.”

 

“I love you.” Carol blushed at Daryl’s words, hiding her face on his chest when he used the arm around her waist to pull her closer to him. 

 

“Oit, idjit, if you keep saying it so much she’ll get tired of hearing it.” Connor said chuckling as his brother blushed and looked away at his words. 

 

“Never,” Carol refuted, “I will never get tired of hearing it Connor Cronan.”

“Hey Connor,” Carl said as he jogged to join them, as they finally left the woods and started walking over the old road. “Isn’t there something you were supposed to ask Carol? Something you might have mentioned once or twi-” 

 

Carl’s words were muffled by Connor’s hand as he slapped it over his mouth, starting to blush a color that rivaled Daryl. Something completely uncharacteristic to the oldest triplet. 

 

“Con?” Daryl asked, a small smile on his face but his eyes saying everything. He was clearly enjoying not being the one in the eye of the hurricane for once. 

 

“It’s something we need to talk about later, way later.” He glared at Carl, who only grinned behind Connor’s hand. Suddenly Connor’s eyes went huge, “Did you just lick me? You little sh-”.

 

“Connor…” Carol’s words were a warning, and Connor sighed letting Carl go only to see him grin as he moved to stand closer to Carol. “Look.”

 

Connor turned to look at where Carol was pointing, and his world was complete once again.

 

.-.-.-.-

 

Murphy was still looking over his shoulder at Zach who was pushing a sleepy Mika in between them, when the boy stopped still. Murphy feared the worst. 

 

He turned around slowly, only to feel like his whole world was crashing onto him at once. The air on his lungs wasn’t enough, as it wasn’t the strength on his legs to carry him forward. 

 

Connor was alive. Connor was alive and running towards him. 

 

“Connor!” The words that had been stuck in his throat finally came out just seconds before they crashed into each other. His arm went around his brother’s back, clutching at his shirt, pulling him as close as he was able to. 

 

He was finally home. 

 

“Oh Murph.” He could hear Connor repeating that as a mantra, over and over again as his brother’s arms just tightened themselves around him. Murphy couldn’t breathe, his chest was trying to expand but the force of his tears was making that impossible. “I’m here, Murph, I’m never leaving you sweet brother, never.”

 

He was able to breathe again.

 

.-.-.-

 

“Daryl?” 

 

Daryl looked away from his brother’s reunion as someone said his name. His eyes followed the voice only to meet Zach’s shocked ones. 

 

“Hey heartthrob.” 

 

Daryl never expected the boy to launch himself towards him. He had barely been able to let go of Carol, before the teenager crashed into him his arms around him not unlike how Murphy was clinging to Connor. 

 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Zach muttered over and over again as he clinged to him, “if I had just listened, I’m so sorry.”

 

“Hey,” Carol said softly, putting a hand on Zach’s back and pulling the boy from Daryl’s arms to her. Daryl just looked at her gratefully while patting Zach awkwardly on the back as the boy had started to cling against Carol instead. “We have talked about this, he would never blame you, Zach; I’m sure he’s going to be proud of you once we tell him how you survived, you survived to come to me.” Carol had moved Zach back, and was making him look into her eyes. 

 

With a smile Daryl saw as the boy sniffed, but nodded, before dropping  his forehead against Carol’s shoulder just as she ran a hand up and down his back. Her eyes met his, and he just smiled at her with all the love he felt for her clear on his face. 

 

He was done hiding. 

 

“Daryl!” He was suddenly brought out of his thoughts when he heard Murphy call for him, grinning when he trotted the last few steps towards were Connor and him were still tangled in each other arms, and threw his own arms around them. 

 

They were together again. 

 

“It’s nice to see your ugly mug again, brother,” Murphy said, his voice breaking while tears continued to fall down his cheeks. 

 

“It’s your same ugly mug, you asshole.” Daryl muttered before bringing Murphy, and by extension Connor, closer once again. 

 

The three of them stood a moment like that, heads touching, grinning as they just let the fact that they were together again settle in. Daryl could see Murphy was still crying, and Connor’s eyes crinkling as he grinned. And when Connor opened his arm and dragged Carol into the middle of things. He was home. 

 

“Oh,” Carol murmured softly as she suddenly found herself in the middle of the three of them, “oh.” One of her hands touched Connor’s chest softly, while the other did the same to Daryl’s. Murphy pushed his chest against her back, dropping his forehead against her shoulder as he continued to cry. “I never thought I would get to do this again.” 

 

They stood there, together for a few moments that felt like just seconds, not long enough for his linking but long enough for Murphy and Carol to finally stop crying; long enough for him not to feel like he was going to join them at any second. It was Carol who made them part for a moment, and the reason why she made them part was clear as water. 

 

The moment they parted, Mika was there. She ran into Carol’s arms hugging her tightly as she burrowed her little face into Carol’s chest and cried. Seconds later the opening of their little circle was filled by Zach, and they were complete once again. 

 

His family had grown in his absence, but if there was something he was sure of, it was of how big Carol’s heart was. With a pat on the back he pulled Zach to his side, accepting him into the circle. 

 

And to his heart. 

 

-.-.-

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Strangers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.. I can explain.... 
> 
> ok so the thing was I thought I could do it without self impossed deadlines and being more lenient with myself... I now see that I can't. So I'm back to my writing schedule and I'm already 3.5 k into the next chapter, so hopefully you will have chapter 3 by next Tuesday. 
> 
> I also got distracted by both RL, and by a Season 6B-7A rewrite that didn't leve me alone until I put it into words.... so they're bad excuses but well... here we are. 
> 
> Thanks to CharlotteAshmore for being my beta and for everyone who has kept me thinking about the boys...
> 
> Also... there's a smutty outtake that goes very well with this... 
> 
> Love you guys tons

**Chapter II**

**Strangers**

 

“What happened to your arm?” Connor asked Murphy, as they walked behind Mika and Zach, who were in turn walking behind Carol and Daryl. “And Mika’s?”

 

Murphy gave Mika a smile as she looked over her shoulder, hearing her name.  The little girl was still looking paler than they all would like her to be and that made him worry. “When we stop, I’ll gather Carol and we’ll tell you everything, just not now.” 

 

Connor saw the sadness in Murphy’s eyes, and how his eyes fixed on Mika as Zach let her grab his hand and hold it. Something had happened with the older girl, considering she wasn’t there with them.  He could well use his imagination to fill in the blanks. 

 

“Is it bad?” Connor asked, grimacing when his nailless fingers touched his clothing. 

 

“Probably hurts less than that,” Murphy chuckled as he watched Connor make a face at his hands. It looked bad, and Carol had already threatened to take care of him as soon as they were allowed to stop. They needed to put more distance between them and that horrible place. 

 

“I’ll live.”

 

“So will I.” Murphy just shook his head, throwing his good arm over Connor’s shoulders and pulling his brother close. He still felt like he was in a dream. He had mourned Connor, had wept for him, had prayed to him to keep Carol safe. And yet … he was by his side once more, was complete once again. 

 

He felt as if he was floating along in a dream, a dream so incredible he was going to wake up only to find himself back at the Grove. Or to find himself in the middle of that road, alone. 

 

“I’m here,” Connor murmured, bringing Murphy close and dropping a kiss on the side of his head. “And I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon.”

 

Murphy sniffled, pushing Connor away and laughing when he stumbled a little. It was real, they were there. He had his family back, and he was never going to allow them out of his sights again. 

 

Or at least not for the next few days. 

 

“We’ll rest here, half an hour tops,” Rick announced loudly for the group to follow, several voices answering as they all moved around the clearing, dropping their meager belongings - and themselves - down to rest. 

 

“Mika, sweetheart?” Carol asked, as she knelt in front of the girl, the boys at her back sticking close. “Would you mind staying with Zach while me and the boys go try and catch us some food?” 

 

Mika didn’t look convinced, her face twisting in apprehension as she looked from Carol, to the three men behind her. 

 

“Come on, Squirt,” Zach said, pushing her a little enough to make her stumble slightly, “We can try teaching the dog some tricks, see if it knows how to fetch?”

 

That seemed to do the trick, and the four of them watched as Zach moved away with Mika, trying to look for the perfect stick for the one-eyed dog to fetch for them. The dog meanwhile looked at the four of them, before looking back at the two kids, and seemed to decide he was probably going to get more out of hanging out with the younger crowd than with them. 

 

“Traitor.” 

 

Connor and Carol had to stifle their laughs when Murphy and Daryl grumbled the word at the same time. 

 

“Seems like distance did nothing to get rid off their fucked up monozygotic shit, did it, love?” Connor chuckled as he pulled Carol close, planting a kiss on her cheek as they started walking away from the clearing, and more importantly … away from prying ears. 

 

They walked in silence for a few minutes, Connor still holding onto Carol. Daryl and Murphy walking so close together they were practically holding hands. There was just this need to be close together, to touch each other, as if the moment they weren’t, the other would disappear. 

 

“I feel like I’m dreaming,” Carol said as she laid her head on Connor’s shoulder, her arms sneaking around his waist and hugging herself to his side. “Like if I stop touching you, I will just wake up and-”

 

“And you’ll only have me, great boost of confidence, love. I’m really feeling the love.” Carol laughed alongside the boys at Murphy’s disgruntled words. They all knew what she meant, they were feeling it too. After ten days of being apart from each other, not knowing if the others were dead or alive … but now they were together again, and mostly in good condition. 

 

“There,” Daryl said as he pointed at a boulder a few yards ahead of them, “we’re far enough now, away from noisy assholes.”

 

Connor led them to it, and moved so he was resting against the boulder, never letting Carol move away. Daryl and Murphy stood in front of them, waiting ... for what? No one really knew. 

 

They were engulfed in silence but not an uncomfortable one. It was the silence of people who didn’t know where to start, of people who had a lot to say, but had no idea of  _ how  _ to say it. 

 

“I killed Lizzie.” 

 

Carol felt Connor stiffen next to her as her words reached his ears. She didn’t know what Daryl’s reaction was since she was unable to raise her eyes from where they were rooted on Murphy’s boots. She wouldn’t be able to take it if there was even a hint of disgust, of hatred, in their eyes. 

 

“She did,” Murphy confirmed, as Carol pulled away from Connor’s embrace, putting her arms around herself and running her hands up and down her arms as if that would get rid of the shivering which had taken her over. “What she’s not saying is that she had to shoot Lizzie after the girl shot me, after she stabbed Mika.”

 

“It doesn’t matter, Murph.” Carol paused, chuckling humorlessly. “I’m still the one who killed a little girl.”

 

“Love,” Connor murmured as he pulled Carol back into his arms, hugging her to his chest and trapping her arms between them. Carol didn’t even get a chance to try and pull away because she felt another body pressed against her back. 

 

And in between her lost boys, she let it all go. She was sure neither of them understood any of what she was saying, but just to say it aloud, between sobs, it seemed like it just left her. And when Daryl finally took a step back, not without kissing the top of her head, it was like not only her sins had been forgiven, but Murphy’s as well. 

 

“There was this whole showdown, the kid shot me twice, and Carol saved my life,” Murphy said as he used his good hand to cradle Carol’s cheek, wiping her tears away.  “Mine and Mika’s.”

 

“Thank you, love,” Connor murmured for her ears only, and Carol was finally able to sneak her hands around his waist and just allow him to bear all of her weight as she leaned into him. “Thank you for keeping him safe for us.”

 

“Always.” Connor’s eyes met his brother’s gazes as they heard her say those words. There was no need to voice what the three of them knew just by looking at each other, they would protect her from everything after this, and that included her own mind. 

 

Connor smiled down at Carol as he felt her nuzzle his neck. “Never thought I would get to hold you like this again, love, nearly broke my soul.”

 

“Were you two together all the time?” Murphy asked, as he moved to sit back against the boulder in the space recently abandoned by Carol. 

 

“Nah,” Daryl answered, putting a hand on Carol’s back and running it up and down in a soft caress, “we found each other last night.”

 

“You’re not the only one who has done things they’re not proud of, love,” Connor said as his eyes met Daryl’s. “We do what we must, to survive.”

 

“Because a life without you, without any of you ...” Daryl added softly, feeling his eyes begin to burn with his tears. “I can’t do it without you.”

 

“Whatever happened, happened,” Murphy said as he put his good hand on Daryl’s shoulder, squeezing a little. “We’re here now, we’re together and we’re going to stay this way.”

 

“I love you,” Carol said sniffing and pulling away from Connor a little to look at Murphy, and then at Daryl. “I love the three of you more than you can imagine, and when we thought …” Carol couldn’t continue, choosing to borrow her face on Connor’s chest as a sob escaped from her throat. 

 

“We thought you were dead, Con,” Murphy whispered softly as he plastered himself to his brother’s side. “The last time I saw you, you were passed out in the middle of the battlefield …”

 

“And you two thought he was fucking dead? Son of a bitch!” Daryl moved closer to the three of them, feeling the need to reassure himself the four of them were really there, that it wasn’t their imagination.

 

“I’m sorry,” Connor said as he moved to bump his head against Murphy’s softly, “I’m sorry I made you go through that.”

 

“I thought I saw a ghost inside Terminus. I was sure I had seen you, and I thought I was hallucinating.” Daryl rested his forehead against Carol’s shoulder as he heard her broken confession. 

 

“I’m here, we’re here, and we’re not going anywhere.” Connor sighed as he felt the weight of his family fall upon him, like he was the one keeping them together. There was nothing else he would have wanted at that moment, but what he had in his arms already. 

 

They still had a lot to talk about, what had happened with Rick, their time apart, what they had seen inside Terminus … but there would be time for that later. Now he had his family in his arms, and he couldn’t ask God for anything else. 

 

-.-.

 

“Blinky,” Mika said as she looked at the dog sitting in front of her and Zach. The dog just looked at her with his one good eye, not reacting. 

 

“Pirate.” Mika gave Zach a look at his suggestion. “What? He only has one eye, like a pirate!”

 

Mika sighed, and Zach tried not to smile at the ten year old’s reaction. 

 

“Mulan.”

 

“It’s a boy,” Zach murmured as he rested his hand under his chin, keeping an eye out for danger as the group spread out a little bit. “You can’t call him Mulan.”

 

“Ping.”

 

“Mad-eye.” Both Zach and Mika looked up, startled as they heard someone join into their game of trying to name the dog. It was one of the new people they hadn’t been introduced to. Zach couldn’t help but look warily at the stranger, as Mika just moved a little closer to him. “From Harry Potter …” at the kids silence the stranger moved to sit down a little away from them. “I’m Tara.”

 

“Zach, and this is Mika.” Tara gave them a sad little half smile, as she moved her hand to allow the dog to sniff it. 

 

“Your mother is the one who kicked ass and got us all out of there?” 

 

“Yep.” Zach replied, a proud smirk on his face.  He elbowed Mika softly on her side, making the girl giggle as he did so. “She’s the best.”

 

“She is … so is your dad Connor?” Tara frowned as the two kids once again started giggling, not answering her question. 

 

“Nick Fury,” Zach said, starting back on their naming game as the three of them brought their attention back to the dog when he started whining. 

 

“Jack Sparrow.”

 

“Snake!” 

 

The three of them jumped up as they heard someone yell above them, frowning when all they could hear was laughter and there was no reptile actually in sight. 

 

“That’s the name of the dog,” Connor said as he walked past them, kneeling down in front of the one-eyed dog as he started moving his tail from side to side rapidly. “His name is Snake.” 

 

“But Con … he’s not a snake, he’s a dog,” Mika explained to the oldest MacManus, frowning as she looked from the man to the dog. 

 

“It’s after a character in a movie, princess,” Murphy added, as he moved to stand next to her, smiling when he felt her sneak her arm around his waist and hugging herself to his side. “Con was obsessed with it when we were Zach’s age.”

 

“His full name is Snake Plissken, because he’s a badass … Murph told us what he did, so he deserves a badass name,” Connor said, smiling at Mika before turning his attention back to the ugly mutt as he raised his hand to pet it. “You’re one of us now, Snake, and that means-”

 

“Don’t you dare touch that dog with your hands like that Connor Cronan, you’ll get an infection, and I swear to God I will smite you if that happens.”

 

Murphy and Daryl started laughing loudly once again as Connor shot a panicked look to where Carol was standing behind him, hands up as if he had been caught by the police. “I need to clean and wrap those, Cookie. Can’t have you getting sick on me.”

 

The underlying ‘can’t lose you’ sobered everyone up a little, a sad smile appearing on Connor’s face as he moved to place his still bloody hands in Carol’s smaller ones. “Do your worst, love.”

 

They continued on, pushing themselves forward to try and put as much distance between them and the place they had left in ruins before night fell upon them. Everyone was exhausted, feet dragging as they tried to keep up. But Rick’s pace was unrelenting, and silent for the most part as they trekked behind him. 

 

“Come on, princess,” Connor said opening his arms as he crouched in front of Mika, watching her stumble for the third time. Silently Mika sneaked her uninjured arm around Connor’s neck, burrowing her face in his neck when he stood up, carrying her along. “Get some rest, I got you.”

 

Carol shared a sad smile with him as she softly kissed him on the cheek before they continued on their way. Overall, he was the one who was doing the best out of the three of them. Murphy looked like death warmed over, and apparently by what Carol had told them, it almost had; Daryl had gotten the shit kicked out of him the night before, the shiner he wore, as well as the way he was limping slightly, were not big causes for concern, but that meant he was in pain. 

 

So for the time being, the smallest member of their family was under his care. Mika immediately closed her eyes as she clutched the back of Connor’s shirt in her hand, allowing the swaying of his gait to lull her to sleep. 

 

“I’ll trade you when you get tired,” Daryl said softly from Carol’s other side. They were walking on the road for the time being, a good ten feet behind the closest of their family members. “You must be tired too.”

 

“I’m okay; you’re hurt anyway.” He gave Daryl a look as his brother made to complain about that. “Don’t even try it, Decks, don’t.”

 

Daryl rolled his eyes, but a small smile appeared on his face. 

 

They had to stop often, mostly so Connor and Daryl could switch Mika back and forth, but as well as to feed baby Judith and to allow everyone a respite. The smoke column behind them kept getting smaller and smaller, the nightmare which had been that day getting closer to an end as the sun kept sinking lower into the horizon. 

 

Finally, they decided to rest for the night. The watch schedule was given out, keeping those who were injured out of the rotation. Rick refused to allow the newcomers to keep watch on their own, so after some bickering between him and Abraham, the schedule was settled. Three pairs were chosen, to keep three hour shifts at a time. 

 

Daryl, much to his family’s chagrin, volunteered for one of the shifts. Automatically, that meant the four of them would stand guard next to him. There was no way they would get separated, not even if it meant one was standing less than ten feet away while the others slept. Not for that first night. Not for many nights which would follow. 

 

Carol busied herself settling Mika down. As a group, they had barely eaten anything all day. Some of the pecans Tyreese still had in his bag, but neither Murphy, Mika nor Carol had even wanted to know anything about those. Carl had brought them one of the cans of ravioli Rick had in the bag he had hidden for Mika. 

 

The kids came first when it came to food. They could wait, Mika and Judy wouldn’t be made to. 

 

“We got first watch, from now till one,” Daryl said as he moved to sit beside Connor, keeping him seated between him and Murphy. “Abraham, the asshole, he’s keeping watch on the other side of the camp.”

 

“What got into your panties, brother?” Murphy said as he pushed his ‘good’ shoulder against Connor’s, making him lean against Daryl slightly. 

 

“That motherfucker tried to put Con into a chokehold.” 

 

“He did what?!” Connor barely was quick enough to grab onto Murphy’s arm, keeping him seated. 

 

“He kept me from killing Dick Grimes in front of Carl,” Connor whispered to Murphy, giving him a look. “I hurt Daryl in the process-” 

 

“No you didn't-”

 

“I pushed Daryl against a wall,” Connor continued, having given his brother a look at his interruption. “I was going to kill Rick, and he barely kept me from doing so. Neither one of you are going to do anything to him, unless he fucking does something else. Are we clear?”

 

There weren’t many times where Connor used what Carol had named his ‘big brother voice’, but there were a few instances when it was needed. And apparently, keeping his brothers from holding a grudge was one of those times. And he knew them, he knew down the line they would find a way to get even with Abraham, Damn, that would be something he would do. 

 

“Whatever,” Daryl murmured as he started fumbling with his crossbow, making sure the assholes at Terminus hadn’t done anything to it. 

 

All Daryl and Murphy had as a warning was the deep rumbling growl which seemed to emanate from the deepest parts of Connor, that something was about to go down. 

 

When they looked up, all they saw was that Rick had grabbed Carol’s forearm, and that Carol was tense. It was basically all they needed. The three of them stood up at once, uncaring if their sudden movement made everyone in the camp turn to look at them, and stalked towards where Rick was quietly talking to Carol. To where Rick was making their woman uncomfortable enough to have her completely tense. 

 

Carol’s free hand, the one Rick was not holding shot back, and the three immediately knew she meant for them to stand back. She needed to face this on her own, and still didn’t know what exactly had happened between Rick and Carol, but although they were not coming any closer, they were still close enough to hear and act if something came about. 

 

“I owe you everything,” Rick said to Carol, looking away from her eyes when he met them briefly. “If it hadn’t been for you …”

 

“Tyreese was the one at the prison; he was the one who got Judith out.” Rick couldn’t help but shudder at the ice in her voice.  Slowly he let go of her arm as he threw a look over her shoulder to her three guardians. He knew he had been very close to death by the oldest MacManus’ hands; he knew he had been wrong for doing what he had done too.

 

“You were on your way back.”

 

“My family was there Rick,” Carol responded, her eyes hard as she made him look at her instead of at the ground. “My whole world was in that prison.  Nothing, and I mean it when I say that, nothing will ever keep me from going after my family again.”

 

The ‘again’ lingered between them. The reason for the again forever marked in their lives. She hadn’t gone after Sophia that day on the highway. She hadn’t done so, and she had lost the one good thing she had ever had up to that point. She was never going to make that mistake again.   

 

“I was wrong to send you away …” Rick clenched his jaw when he heard twin scoffs coming from two of the three men standing behind Carol. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

 

“You shouldn’t have,” Carol agreed with him. 

 

“And now we’re out here …”

 

“And now you’re out here … and the only reason you’re still alive? It’s because we love your family like it was our own.” Carol took a step closer to Rick, her voice low enough only for him to hear her. “And that’s the only reason we’re staying. We’re staying because of that boy; because of that little girl. Because they deserve better than the hand they’ve been dealt, and the only reason Connor hasn’t killed you? The only reason I haven’t killed you? It’s because they are the last pieces of one of my best friends.”

 

Rick took a step back, his throat wobbling as he tried to pass saliva in his dry mouth. “Let’s keep this clear Rick, me burning down Terminus? That wasn’t because of any other reason than they had Daryl in there. Anyone who gets between me and my family? That’s the reckoning they’re going to be facing.”

 

Carol turned on her heel, leaving Rick behind and walking past her three men. On her way through them, she put an arm around Connor’s waist and the other around Daryl’s. Her soft touch making the two men turn and follow her, with Murphy moving to follow them. 

 

“Things are settled,” Carol said softly as she moved to sit by the tree where they had decided they were going to keep watch. “He knows where we stand.”

 

“Good,” Connor said as he found himself sandwiched between Carol and Murphy. Both of them sitting so their whole sides touched him. “Is this going to be a thing?” Connor asked, smiling as he looked from his brother to his woman before giving Daryl, who was sitting a little further away, a look. 

 

“You were the asshole who made them think you were dead.”

 

“It’s not like I did it on purpose!” Connor said, mock whining as he put an arm around Carol’s shoulders, nuzzling the side of her head as she moved to lay it against his shoulder. 

 

Daryl just snorted. Little by little, the camp started to slow down. One by one, the rest of their family fell asleep around them. Daryl couldn’t help but smile a little as he saw Zach sleeping close to Mika, his gun close, ready to protect the little girl. Snake had chosen to lay his head on Carol’s lap, the mutt enjoying the scratching behind the ears he was getting from her. 

 

“You’re going to spoil it,” Daryl stated as he looked into the woods, chuckling softly as he heard Carol’s annoyed huff of breath. 

 

“The baby deserves it, don’t you, sweet boy?” Daryl couldn’t help but chuckle out loud as he heard Carol baby talk the dog, listening as the mutt’s tail thumped against the ground. 

 

“He’s just afraid he’s going to get ticks again,” Connor joked, laughing silently as Daryl looked away from the woods just to glare at him. “After all, last time one of those barely missed the crown jewels …”

 

“Fuck off,” Daryl grumbled, before sighing softly as he felt Carol wrap her arms around his waist and nuzzle her face against the side of his head. 

 

“I’ll pick them off carefully if they end up on the crown jewels, Pookie.  After all, I need them to be in prime condition.”

 

Daryl just shook his head, chuckling, knowing he was probably as red as a tomato. “Assholes, that’s what all of you are.”

 

“But that’s why you love us …” 

 

“Damn right,” he answered, pulling her close and kissing the side of her face. Carol sighed as she moved to lay her feet over Connor’s lap, and the three brothers scooted closer together so they could serve as a cushion for her as her eyes start to close against her will. 

 

“Sleep, love,” Connor said softly, chuckling when she finally moved to put her head on Daryl’s lap. The archer let her, eager for his watch to be over, and he would sleep standing up a thousand times if it meant she was getting some rest. “We’ll be here in the morning.”

 

“You better.” 

 

.-.-.-.

 

They had ended up in a pile nearby where Mika, Zack and Snake had been sleeping. Glenn, who had been one of  the last ones on watch who had watched with barely contained glee as Daryl grumbled his way into the middle of the pile, making so Carol’s chest was basically his pillow. 

 

The amount of blackmail he could have gotten from a picture of that moment, if only he hadn’t lost his camera back at the prison. 

 

Glenn chuckled as he turned to look at the rising sun, looking tenderly at Maggie who was lying nearby. He remembered the pain and utter desolation Connor had showed just yesterday, when he had been told what had happened to Carol; and he really wished he would never have to go through that. 

 

He knew who it was the moment he heard movement behind him, Daryl had never been a fan of sleeping in when there was a chance of being able to catch them some food. He was always the last one to go to sleep, and the first one up. And even being in the middle of that dog pile hadn’t changed anything. 

 

“Don’t go.” Glenn didn’t turn to look, but he couldn’t help but feel curiosity as he heard Carol soft voice call out for the hunter.  

 

“Hey.” Daryl’s low grumble traveled all the way to Glenn. “It’s alright, I’m just going to get us something to eat.”

 

Glenn’s heart clenched painfully. That voice was one he knew was reserved only for Carol, and for a moment he felt like a creep for overhearing something which was obviously a private moment. But he didn’t feel guilty enough to move away, so he continued to pretend to be paying attention to something else besides them. After all, he needed to be able to settle that bet with Maggie. 

 

Carol must have said something too low for Glenn to hear, because he heard as the dry leaves rustled from Daryl moving closer to her before his voice travelled all the way to him. “I can’t let my girls go hungry another day, can I?”

 

“I don’t want you going off on you own.” Carol’s worry was evident in her voice, and for Glenn it was something he well understood. He stole a look at where Maggie was still sleeping, he wouldn’t want to be apart from her after just having found her, not even for a minute. 

 

“I won’t, I’ll get one of these jackasses to come with me.” Glenn could hear as either Connor or Murphy groaned after what had sounded like Daryl slapping them. 

 

“Don’t be mean,” Carol said chuckling, and Glenn couldn’t help but smile as he shook his head. It felt weird to be able to hear them like this, in a way they had never had before. But at the same time, it felt like something precious even if it was just a normal interaction among them. 

 

“I need you,  _ We  _ need you.”

 

“Need to go take a piss, that’s what I need.” Murphy grumpy voice made Glenn almost snort, keeping himself from giving himself away at the last moment. “This asshole was almost kneeling me in the balls the whole night.”

 

“Shut up, Malachy.” Connor’s voice joined, the four of them were up now and that probably meant everyone else would be waking up soon. And everyone waking up meant they were going to continue on their way, to where? Who knew, but they had to keep moving. 

 

“I’ll take the kid with me,” Daryl said, his voice with a certain softness to it that Glenn knew was reserved only for when he spoke with Carol. “We’ll meet up with you four after I catch you some breakfast.”

 

Glenn could feel as his cheeks started to redden when the noises of Carol and Daryl kissing reached his ears. 

 

“To be honest, if this is payback for all the listening we had to do while at the prison... “ Connor said as he threw an arm around Glenn’s shoulders, startling him. “You’re getting off easily. We didn’t have a choice then, you and the missus are just that loud.”

 

“Shut up,” Glenn muttered elbowing him hard, glaring at Connor as he laughed. 

 

Connor’s laughter finished rousing everybody up, their day had just begun. 

 

-.-.-.

 

Daryl could feel Zach’s eyes on him once again. 

 

They had been hunting for the better part of an hour now, a string full of woodland critters over his shoulder as he raised his crossbow and let another bolt fly. The boy had been behaving accordingly to what they were doing, being quiet and following instructions easily. 

 

Thing which really worried Daryl. 

 

Daryl used the opportunity to look at Zach, really look at him, as he moved to climb up the tree to get the squirrel he had pinned against the branch it was running on. He didn’t look as bad as Carol had mentioned he had looked when they had found him, but there was still a weight upon his shoulders Daryl didn’t like seeing there. 

 

There was a look in his eyes which reminded him of himself, and he never wanted any of their kids to feel like he ever had . 

 

_ Their  _ kids. As he looked as Zach finally reached their latest catch, he couldn’t help but feel the weight of his words settle into his chest. Their little family had officially grown by two members more, and not even in the sense of how they all saw Glenn and Maggie as part of it; as in two young people they were in charge of for good. 

 

His heart started beating a little faster, and Daryl had to remind himself that he needed to breathe. As much shit as he gave the young man, now climbing down the three, he had a special place in his heart for Zach; he had had it for a while now, and the thought of having lost him back there had almost pushed him over the edge. 

 

That boy was theirs, had been theirs for a while now. Mika was different, he had barely had any contact with the little girl before yesterday. But any child that Carol loved, any child that Carol claimed as her own; that was a child he would do the same with. 

 

And now he was basically a parent of two. Merle would have laughed his ass off at his situation; Merle would have been a disgusting asshole about it too if he was honest, full of innuendo about Carol’s relationship with him and his brothers. 

 

He really missed that son of a bitch sometimes. He had told him, probably his last words ever, that he was not tradable; that having two new brothers didn’t mean he didn’t need him, or love him any less. He really missed Merle sometimes. 

 

“Here,” Daryl grumbled as he passed the string with the rest of the squirrels to Zach as he approached him. “You need to learn to string them, you saw me do it more than once.”

 

Zach nodded, taking it and crouching down to add their latest prize to the line. “Are we catching any more?”

 

“We should start heading back, if we run into anything else while on our way well we won’t let anything go to waste.”

 

Zach just nodded, shouldering their catch as he continue his silent way alongside Daryl. 

 

“Carol told me how she found you…” Daryl kept on looking forward, not being able to try and meet the kid’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Daryl…”

 

“I’m the grown up, kid.” Daryl could feel Zach’s eyes on him, and he just couldn’t meet them. “I was supposed to keep you two safe, and I fucked it up.”

 

“We didn’t help at all,” Zach said softly. 

 

“You fucking burnt the shack down while trying to have sex, I think you definitely didn’t.” 

 

Zach chuckled at Daryl’s deadpan tone as he said that, his smile growing when he heard Daryl laugh softly. 

 

“We’ll be on the look out for her, Papa Bear, we’ll find her.”

 

“Shut up!” Zach couldn’t help but laugh loudly even after receiving a slap to the back of the head. 

 

“You can grumble all you want, Papa Bear, but you fucking missed me while I was gone.”

 

Daryl rolled his eyes, as he hurried his pace pretending to not pay attention to what Zach was saying. 

 

“I surely did fucking miss you.”

 

“I’m telling your mother that you fucking curse like a sailor,” Daryl muttered the corner of his lips raised slightly as he tried to keep the fake scowl on his face. “She’ll kick your ass for that.”

 

“Mama Carol loves me, I’m her favorite after Mika.” Daryl stopped and gave Zach a look. “And Connor, and Murphy, and maybe even you… but she still loves me!”

 

“That she does, heartthrob, that she does.”

 

Zach smiled as he watched Daryl’s back, the hunter signaling into silence as he stalked something only he had seen. He wasn’t really joking when he called Carol and Daryl what he did; they in the last few months had been more of a parental unit than his ever were. It seemed like it had taken him the end of days to find a family, and even with all the pain and destruction he couldn’t help but let his heart fill with love for this people. 

 

He had parents, a Connor and a Murphy who he couldn’t yet define what they were to him, and he now had a little sister. It was more than he had ever had. It was more than he had ever even thought he would get. 

 

The silence in the woods was broken by the sound of one of Daryl’s bolts hitting his target. He had a lot more now than he did when he arrived to the prison a few months ago, but that also meant he had more to lose. 

 

-.-.-

 

Carol had barely greeted Daryl with a kiss, still not believing how open he was being with his affections, when they were all rushing off after hearing a person cry out for help. 

 

There was a man on top of a rock, and with a look Daryl told her to stay back with Murphy and Mika, who were barely keeping up as both Connor and Zach followed him. 

 

Connor didn’t even look twice, slamming his knife into one of the walkers, only to whip his head in Daryl’s direction when he felt, more than saw, one of his bolts fly by him and find it’s target on a walker’s head. 

 

“Gotta pay attention, old man,” Daryl muttered only for Connor’s ears as he moved to retrieve his arrow. Connor glared at him, as he kicked his foot out snorting as Daryl stumbled almost falling face first into the walker’s remains. 

 

“Asshole.”

 

“Up yours.”

 

“Boys!” Carol had finally caught up with them, giving the two of them a look as she stood between them, turning to look at the man Rick had just cajoled into getting off his rock. 

 

Rick gave the three of them a look, before turning to the man in front of him. 

 

“You okay?”

 

Daryl was barely fast enough to grab Carol, who had taken a step closer to the man, by the waist and getting her out of the way as the man bent over and puked his guts outs. 

 

“That’s some nasty shit,” Murphy murmured, as he covered Mika’s eyes as they finally joined them. 

 

“No, really?” Connor called over his shoulder. 

 

“Man, you really need to eat something, you’re even more of a jackass than usual.” Daryl grumbled, pushing his shaggy hair back with the hand still grasping his knife. 

 

“Shut the fuck up, Declan.” Connor barked, moving to take the knife out of Daryl’s hands. “Jesus Christ, you’re going to poke an eye out.”

 

“Do not use the name of the Lord in vain, Cronan, didn’t mum taught you anything? For fucks sake.” Connor sneered at Murphy as he grinned at him.

 

“Are you three done?” Rick said, no humor in his voice as he stood in front of the priest while giving them a shrewd look which they ignored. 

 

“Yes.” Carol tried to reel her smile in as her three boys answered Rick’s question at exactly the same time. 

 

“Weirdos,” Zach muttered low only for Murphy to hear him, pulling a chuckle out of the middle triplet. 

 

“Thank you,” the man priest said as he looked nervously to Rick, his eyes looking to the triplets quickly before they returned to Rick. “My name is Gabriel.”

 

“Do you have any weapons on ya?” 

 

He looked nervously around, his eyes focusing suddenly on the cross visible on Connor’s forearm, before his eyes saw the Mary Magdale tattoo on the guy’s necks. Gabriel swallowed, his whole self shaking as he turned to look at Rick, giving him a nervous smile. “Do I look like someone who carries one?”

 

“Fucking tosser,” Murphy muttered. 

 

“In this time and age, father, even the kiddies are packing.” Connor smiled at Mika, who gave him a shaky smile as he winked at her. 

 

“We don't give two short and curlies what it looks like.” Carol glared at Abraham over her shoulder, giving him a pointed look at where Mika was standing just a few feet from him.

 

“I have no weapons of any kind,” Gabriel said as he looked from Abraham to Rick. 

 

“Well that’s if you don’t count those high pitched screams,” Daryl muttered low enough for only his brothers and Carol to hear. 

 

They all tried to stifle their laughter when the man looked warily at them once again. 

 

“The word of God is the only protection I need.”

 

“Oh boy,” Glenn said as he sighed. 

 

“Here we go again…” The muttered words of Zach as everyone’s eyes moved to Connor, who had stiffened up as if an electrical current had run through him the moment Gabriel’s words reached him. 

 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Connor said, glaring at the man as he took in his collar and the nervous look he gave him as he fidgeted in his place. “Are you really going to use him as an excuse? Why you’re such a fucking wanker?”

 

Gabriel laughed nervously as he looked around for a source of support, only to find half of the people ready to burst out laughing and the other half looking bored. “Son, God works in mysterious ways.”

 

“I’ll show you his mysterious ways,” Connor grumbled as he took a step towards Gabriel, stopping when he saw the man flinch back. “I’m not going to kick your arse just because you’re wearing that-” he pointed at the clerical collar. “But if you use God as a justification for being a twat one more time, then may my saint mother up in heaven forgive me, I will kick your arse.”

 

Gabriel laughed nervously, looking from Connor who was on his left, to Rick who was still standing in front of him who just raised an eyebrow. 

 

“God is almighty son, the way he works is incomprehensible for us mere mortals.”

 

“Drop the act, father.” Abraham interrupted from the back, as he saw Connor gear up for a fight. “I’ve seen this motherfucker drop people twice your weight, if you weren’t such an asshat you  would shut the fuck up and just be grateful for the fact you didn’t get your teeth stomped on.”

 

Gabriel gulped, his voice shaky when he once again dared to speak. “Do you…” his eyes found Maggie’s trying to clearly get some sympathy from them. “Have any food?”

 

His eyes had inevitably moved to the critters Zach was still carrying over his shoulder. 

 

“Hell no,” Daryl growled moving to the boy and taking them from him. “These are for my girls, not for pansy assed twats we meet in the woods.”

 

“Whatever I had left, just hit the ground.” Gabriel explained as he looked anywhere but where the overprotective brothers were standing. 

 

“Here,” Carl said as he pushed his way forward. “Have some pecans.”

 

Connor felt Carol tense up behind him at the mention of the nuts, throwing her a wondering look from over his shoulder. Her hand softly patted his lower back, as she moved to press her face against his shoulder. 

 

She would explain later, right now what was important was whatever they were going to do with the man standing in front of them. The details of what had happened to them would come with time. 

 

“It’s a beautiful child,” Gabriel said as he took the pecans from Carl, trying to smile as he looked at Judith. His eyes found Mika, who was hiding behind Zach. “They both are.”

 

Daryl and Murphy both took a step forward, only stopping when Carol grabbed Daryl’s hand in a death grip. The look she gave both of them kept them from storming over to the priest, instead having Daryl grunt at Zach and getting Mika to stand between him and Murphy. 

 

“Do you have a camp?” 

 

“No,” Rick answered, his eyes never leaving the sweating man’s form. “Do you?”

 

The threat under Rick’s tone didn’t go unnoticed by Gabriel, his fleeting look towards Connor before looking back at Rick making that clear. “I have a church.”

 

“Put your hands above your head.” 

 

They watched as Rick patted the man down, asking him the questions they had asked everyone back at the prison. The answers didn’t surprise anyone. He was a coward, evidently just by the way they had found him minutes ago. 

 

“There’s something about him I don’t trust,” Murphy muttered low enough to only be heard by his family. 

 

Connor nodded, moving slightly so he could put his arm around Carol’s shoulder bringing her to his side. 

 

“Why?” They had missed most of the interrogation but they all knew what question Rick was asking for more clarification. 

 

“Because God abhors violence.”

 

“Con,” Carol said softly tightening the grip she had on him with her arm around his waist. “Calm down.”

 

“That asshole did something,” Connor answered her unspoken question. “I don’t fucking trust him.”

 

“Then don’t.” They continued to watch as Rick intimidated the man into talking. “We’ll keep an eye out, but we need to rest, we need a place where Mika and Murphy can properly rest.”

 

“Just for the record, I don’t fucking like him.”

 

“Awww cookie.” Carol pinched his side, trying to hide her smile when he jumped at the feeling. “Always trying to protect us all.”

 

“Someone has to, you bunch of assholes keep getting into trouble,” Connor muttered back, a smile threatening to appear on his face as he kept on scowling at what was happening in front of them. 

 

“I love you, Con.” 

 

Connor huffed when he felt Daryl’s shoulder collide with his back. 

 

“Move it lovebirds, we’re apparently going to the asshat’s church.”

 

“Are you jealous, Decks?” Connor said as he pulled Carol along as they started walking behind the group as they made their way to the church. “Are you jealous that I’m getting all of our lady’s attention instead of icky little Declan?”

 

Mika giggled at Connor’s words, her small hand moving to grab onto Daryl’s free one. Her smile bright as she looked up at him, drawing a small smile from Daryl. 

 

“I’m not jealous,” Daryl called back over his shoulder, helping Mika as they started going downhill. “I just worry that you won’t be able to handle her, it takes three of us to be able to handle all that.” He looked back once again, wiggling his eyebrows chuckling when he heard Carol’s laughter. 

 

“Please stop,” Zach deadpanned. 

 

 

-.-.-.

 

“Well… it ain’t Saint Patrick’s.” Connor muttered as they stood back watching while Gabriel climbed up the stairs to the front doors of the dilapidated church. 

 

“It’s Saint Sarah’s, Con.” Mika’s small voice said from where she was now clutching Carol’s hand. Connor gave her a big smile, as he looked back at them. She was looking pale, and he found the same worry he was feeling reflected in Carol’s eyes.  

 

Daryl swatted him in the chest, as he took his crossbow from his back motioning for him to follow Rick and Michonne as they made their way inside the building. 

 

“Are you ever gonna let me enter a fucking room first?” Connor whispered angrily at Daryl as he pushed his way in front of the oldest MacManus. 

 

“Jesus fucking Christ, Connor, you should know better than to curse inside of a church,” Daryl whispered yelled to him, without taking his eyes from the closed doors up ahead. 

 

Connor glared at Michonne from where she snorted across the room. 

 

“Silence!” Rick barked at them, as he motioned everyone to enter the rooms at the same time. 

 

Connor growled low as Daryl, once again, entered the room first. It was clear the room had worked as the main office. Notebooks scattered across the desks, hand made copies of the bible across all of them. 

 

“This guy is fucking crazy,” Daryl muttered as he saw the books when he turned from observing a wooden carved replica of the last supper. 

 

“There’s something I don’t trust about him, brother.” Daryl looked at Connor as his brother continued talking, resting his hip against the desk as Connor looked over the notebooks. 

 

“What is it?”

 

“He’s on his own.” At Daryl’s confused face Connor moved closer, his voice low. “Every congregation I’ve been a part of, if something like this happened the first place people would go was to church.” Connor looked at the open door, from where they could see the empty pews. “Why is he alone? Where are his people?”

 

“Maybe it’s different for them? They’re not catholic?”

 

“We like to take the piss out of them, but we’re not that different.” Connor sighed, pointing at the last supper. “My Mama had one just like that in our room, there’s something going on here I don’t like.”

 

“We’ll keep our guard up, We tell Carol and Murph, We-”

 

Rick’s whistling signal made both of them tense up. 

 

“We’ll keep an eye out on him.” 

 

Connor nodded, giving the room a last look before he hurried after his brother. They had been apart too long from the rest of their brood. 

 

Only Carol caught the look of disdain they both shot to Gabriel as he tried to ‘joke’ with Rick once again as they climbed down the stairs. 

 

“Everything alright?” she was asking as soon as they were within range, her free hand moving to touch first Connor and then Daryl as they stopped beside her.

 

“We’re not trusting that son of a bitch yet, keep your eyes open,” Daryl said as he looked from his woman, to his brother, to the kids. Zach nodded, pulling Mika closer to him. 

 

Connor groaned as he kept his ear out to the argument brewing behind them. Abraham wanted to leave for DC as soon as possible, while Michonne was advocating for them to get a respite. Rick was keeping quiet, and Connor did not like that at all. 

 

“We’re not moving until we get some rest,” he declared as he pulled Carol closer by her waist. He looked over to the squabbling group when he noticed they had fallen silent. “My family needs to get some proper sleep, food and a roof over our heads.”

 

He could see Abraham starting to gear up for a fight, so he interrupted before he had a chance to get started. “I don’t give a fuck about your fucking cure.”

 

“Will you put your family before the whole world?” Abraham’s booming voice made Mika squeak as she hid her face against Zach. 

 

“I most certainly fucking will.” Carol felt Connor tense up when Abraham scoffed. “And it’s all your fucking fault in the end. If the fucking military had done their fucking jobs for once keeping this shit quarantined we wouldn’t have to risk our arses pulling this twat along.” He motioned towards where Eugene was standing awkwardly during the last part of Connor’s tirade. 

 

Murphy groaned, facepalming as he looked at his older brother. “For fucks sake, Connor, not everything is like in the fucking movies.” At the look he got from the others he continued. “He fucking watched  _ Outbreak  _ with Dustin Hoffman a shit ton of times when we were kiddies.” 

 

Carol tried not to laugh at the look on Abraham’s face, a mix between bewilderment and anger which was making his face redden in an impressive way. 

 

Rick finally intervened. “We need to regroup, get some food, water, ammunition.” He walked into the church, not saying anything else to the army man. 

 

Connor started pulling Carol along, as the rest of their group began to follow Rick inside. Smirking as he passed Abraham. “Sorry Archie, seems like your date with Veronica will have to wait.”

 

Connor was still rubbing his ribs from where Carol had elbowed him, when they were sitting down on one of the pews watching as Carol settled Mika down to sleep.

 

“Isn’t she a little old to be needing naps?” Daryl asked, raising his thumb to his mouth, barely able to avoid getting his hand slapped away by Connor as he did so. 

 

“I don’t like her color,” Connor muttered, looking at Carol’s concerned face as she smiled down at the little girl. “She’s too pale.”

 

The three of them sat up a little straighter when Carol approached them, having left Zach behind to keep Mika company.  “She’s been through a lot, she’s still healing.” Concern was visible in her voice, her posture a little defeated as Daryl pulled her to sit on his lap. “I just wish there was more I could do, she’s so little.”

 

“She’s strong, she’s one of us now,” Murphy said kissing her shoulder over her jacket. “She’s a lot stronger than we all thought she was.”

 

“We’re moving, gathering supplies before nightfall,” Rick said as he approached them, a slight blush on his cheeks as his eyes moved from Carol sitting on Daryl’s lap, to Murphy clutching her hand on his, to Connor’s smirk. “We’re making the rounds to the food bank, Glenn and his group are looking for ammo…”

 

“We’ll get the water, there’s creek not far from here,” Daryl said looking up at Rick, as he put his chin over Carol’s shoulder. 

 

“Carl is staying, as well as Tyreese.”

 

“I’ll stay with Mika,” Zach said as he sat on the next pew over, “I’ll help Carl if anything comes up.”

 

“He’ll be better help than Ty, if it comes to that,” Murphy added looking over at where he could see Sasha and Tyreese. “He’s not exactly the best first defense against well…” Murphy shared a look with Zach, “anything.”

 

“Carl and I got this,” Zach said giving the younger boy a wink where he stood swaying his baby sister. “We got our little sisters to look after, we’ll be alright.”

 

Rick nodded at him, before walking away and out of the church. 

 

“I’m going to give him a 6 out of 10 on that exit, he’s just trying too hard,” Murphy said as they all watched Rick make an overly dramatic exit.  

 

Rick groaned when he heard the brother’s howling laughter coming from inside the church. 

 

-.-.-.-

 

Carol made a noise as she was pushed into a tree as soon as she and Connor were out of sight of his brothers. Her hands immediately moved to his hair, pulling sharply to direct his mouth how she wanted it, smiling into the kiss when they heard Daryl and Murphy’s jeering as they caught up with them. 

 

“This only makes a girl believe that the only reason why you offer us for water duty, Dixon,” Carol said as she moved her neck allowing Connor to access it easier with his kisses, “was to get her alone long enough…”

 

“You caught his master plan, love,” Murphy said as he hit Connor in the back of the head with one of the still empty water containers, using the distraction to pull Carol away and into his side. “Although, if he wanted alone time with you he should have sent us somewhere else.”

 

“Oh don’t worry Muffin, it’s better this way.” With a smile Carol moved away from him, taking a couple of containers from where the twins had dropped them during their antics. “I’m too much of a woman for just one of you.” 

 

Carol turned and ran away towards the creek as soon as she let those words pass her lips. 

 

She was already kneeling down and filling her containers by the time the three of them caught up with her. The smile she shot them as soon as she heard their steps held so much love the three of them stopped just to look at her. 

 

“We’re damned lucky bastards,” Daryl muttered, before pushing through his brothers and dropping on his knees by her side. 

 

“Fuck yes.” Connor was about to move to join them when Murphy’s hand on his arm stopped him from moving. “Murph?”

 

“I did something…” At Connor’s face, Murphy moved his gaze to where Daryl was playfully splashing Carol, making her laugh softly. 

 

“What did you do, Murph?”

 

“Iaskedhertomarryus.”

 

“What?!” Connor’s raised voice made the two by the water look back alarmed, to their looks Connor just made a dismissive hand motion, watching as Daryl squinted at them before he turned back to their task first, with Carol quickly following. 

 

“You did it without us?!” Connor whisper yelled at his brother, surprising himself when he found himself gripping the front of his shirt and getting right in his face. 

 

“We thought you were dead, Conn.” 

 

Connor deflated as Murphy uttered those words. He let his forehead drop on his brother’s shoulder as he put his arms around him in a loose hug. He couldn’t even begin to think how it would feel to truly think Murphy was dead, or Daryl, or Carol. The mere idea was already threatening to cause tears to fall down his cheeks, and he couldn’t let that cripple him right then. 

 

He was the head of a family now, he needed to make sure they all made it. Together. 

 

“I called her my wife outloud already,” Connor said chuckling, as he moved towards their other half, pulling Murphy along with an arm around his shoulders. “Carl was trying to give me shit about that yesterday.”

 

“We need to talk to Decks about this.”

 

“That we do.”

 

“Think he’ll be up to it?” Murphy made a face as he processed what he had said out loud. “I’m a fucking twat ... of course he will.”

 

“Just look at the tosser, he’s ass over heels already,” Connor said just before leaving Murphy’s side quickly and using the fact that Daryl was crouching to his advantage, pushing him into the small creek. 

 

Connor was still grinning, even with the shiner he was now sporting as the four of them took a different route back towards the church. He was still chuckling now and then as he noticed how  Daryl’s clothes clung to him. 

 

“Really digging the look, brother.” Connor didn’t stop even when Carol glared at him. “You look like a wet rat covered in pubes.” 

 

His howling laughter was sure going to attract some walkers, but as Carol watched Connor try to outrun Daryl once again, she couldn’t really mind at the moment. Just seeing them joke around, even if Daryl tried to pretend he really was angry at his brother, when she thought she would never get this again… it just made her heart soar. 

 

“They’re so childish, aren’t they, love?” Murphy said, mock disappointment in his voice as he smiled at Carol. 

 

“You would have been running around with them if you knew I wouldn’t tan your hide if you injured yourself any more.”

 

“Damn right I would, love.”

 

-.-.-

 

They ended up meeting Rick, Michonne and the rest of the group at the road leading back to the church. 

 

Michonne tried to hide her smile as she noticed the state both Daryl and Connor were in, failing when she ended up getting caught by Carol. They shared a knowing smile as Murphy slammed against Connor’s back by ‘accident’ getting a glare from both women as he smiled innocently at them. 

 

“He’s using the fact that he knows I would kill them if they hurt him more than he already is into his advantage,” Carol muttered to Michonne as she moved to help her push the car with their newest provisions. “He’s been a little shit about it too.”

 

“I can only imagine.” Michonne chuckled as she grinned at the older woman. “I don’t know how you handle three of them. I had one of them for a few days and let me tell you… handling one MacManus is tiring enough.”

 

“It all comes down to practice.” Carol squeaked when she felt Connor put his arms around her waist raising her from the ground as they all tried not to laugh together with her infectious giggles. 

 

“You’re a saint, Carol Pe-”

 

The hurried steps coming from the church made them all stop in their tracks, the look on Zach’s face as he reached them told them everything they needed to know even before he opened his mouth.

 

“Where is she?” Daryl asked as they tried to catch up to Carol who was running ahead of them inside the church. 

 

“She’s there, but when she wasn’t waking up I checked on her and I’m pretty sure she’s running a fever.” Zach stopped Daryl and Connor with a hand on each of their arms. “I had to stop Abraham from doing something-” Zach had to stop to take a breath and gulp down the knot he was feeling at the back of his throat, “stupid, he was sure we were trying to cover something with her bandages.”

 

“Fuck!” Connor yelled looking up at the sky, just as they both heard Daryl growl low in his chest as he took off to follow both Murphy and Carol. 

 

“We stopped him, Carl and I.” 

 

Connor patted Zach on the back as he started ushering the young man inside, not waiting for the rest of their party to catch up. 

 

“Daryl!” Connor barked at his younger brother as he entered the church to see him pointing his crossbow at a glaring Abraham. The taller man was standing a few feet away from where he could see Carol was kneeling in front of their little girl, Murphy at her side; he was spitting mad, and he knew it was only his tightly held control keeping Abraham alive. “Stand down!”

 

“He wanted to put our kid down!”

 

“I did not want to do any such thing!” Abraham yelled, putting his hands down and taking a step closer to them. 

 

“You think she was bitten!” Carl snarled, his gun pointing at Rosita, who was standing just a few feet from Abraham. “We saw the look you shared with her!”

 

“We think her wound might be infected,” Rosita said as a matter of fact, “I just wanted to check it before you two started to freak the fuck out.”

 

Carl still glared at them, not putting their guns down. 

 

“Tyreese?” Rick asked from the doors, looking at the scene that awaited him inside the church. “What really happened here?”

 

Tyreese looked nervously between everyone before looking helplessly at his sister who was standing next to Rick. 

 

“I don’t care about who said what,” Carol barked from where she was kneeling by Mika. “She’s burning up, do you have any kind of medical supplies?” Her question was directed to Father Gabriel, who was partially hiding behind Rick. 

 

“No, the little I had I finished months ago.”

 

“Is there a pharmacy in town?” Murphy asked, trying not to grimace when Carol pulled off the bandage they had changed that morning to see Mika’s wound red and festering. “We can go raid it.”

 

“Nothing of use,” Glenn answered as he pushed past the people at the door, dropping what little him, Maggie, and Tara were able to find. “There was nothing, someone must have already gone through it, like they did through most of the town.”

 

“Son of a bitch!” Daryl growled as he finally lowered the crossbow, turning and kicking a pew before dropping to sit on it, his hands covering his face. 

 

“We need to get her some antibiotics, something to lower her fever,” Carol said looking at Connor like he was going to be able to get all the answers they needed. 

 

“There’s some baby Tylenol we have for Judy,” Carl said softly, as he moved over to Judy’s baby bag. “Here.”

 

Carol smiled softly at the boy, trying not to let tears fall as she tried to concentrate enough to remember how much she would have to give the girl sleeping in front of her. 

 

“We’ll go get them, there’s got to be a pharmacy that still has some shit left,” Daryl said as he stood up turning to look at the pale sleeping girl, before searching his brother’s face for acceptance. “It won’t take me long.”

 

“There won’t be anything, the closest thing here is Atlanta and we can’t go back in there.” Rick tried not to flinch when four angry pairs of eyes settled on him. “The next town over is even smaller than this one.”

 

“Then we’ll go to Atlanta,” Murphy said as he pushed back some of Mika’s sweaty hair from her face. “We’ll go get what she needs, and we’ll be back later.”

 

“We’re going to Washington!” Abraham bellowed from behind them all, making them all look at him again. “We’re mobilizing everyone tomorrow.”

 

“Then go!” Carol yelled back as she stood up, charging towards him. “Go and try to save the world with that phoney ass cure you want to believe so much is real!” No one saw Eugene flinch back at her words, everyone more concerned that Carol was not almost chest to chest with the former military man.

 

“But I’m not going to have another child die on me, not another one!” Her voice broke, and she could see how her words impacted the man before her. He knew the same pain she did, she could see that now. 

 

“We’ll stay,” Michonne said from besides Rick, as she took a step closer to where Murphy was trying to shush Mika back to sleep. “You guys go, and I’ll stay with her,” she said as she sat besides her head on the pew. “I’ll take care of her.”

 

Carol seemed to deflate at Michonne’s promise, nodding sharply before moving back to where Daryl and Connor were standing. “So we three are going?”

 

“It’s me and Conn only, sweetheart,” Daryl said softly, so the words were only heard by them. “You and Murph need to stay.”

 

“The hell she will,” Connor hissed taking a step closer to Carol. “I don’t fucking trust Rick to not pull something, not so soon, brother.”

 

“He wouldn’t.”

 

“We don’t know that.”

 

Daryl sighed, dropping his head and leaning into Carol’s touch when her hand sneaked into the back of his shirt. He didn’t want to take her with them. Atlanta was infested with walkers and they didn’t know what they could be getting into. But at the same time, he wouldn’t be able to bear it if he came back, if  _ they  _ came back, only to find her gone once more. 

 

“When do we leave?” Murphy asked, making the three of them jump, startled as he pushed his way into their circle. “I’m not happy with the ammo we have, but we’ll make do.”

 

“Murphy…” 

 

“For fucks sake, the only way you’re leaving me behind again-” he gave Carol a hard look, “will be knocking me out again, and please don’t do that ‘cause it hurts like a motherfucker.”

 

Murphy couldn’t help but feel a small sense of victory when Carol chuckled as she looked away from him. 

 

“So we’re going to Atlanta?”

 

“ _ We _ are going to Atlanta, kid,” Daryl answered Zach’s question. “You’re staying with your sister.”

 

“You never let me have any fun.”

 

 

 


	3. Consumed

**Chapter III**

**Consumed**

“You were supposed to make a right at that fork, not a left, Declan.”

 

Daryl grunted in answer as he glared at Connor in the rearview mirror, his brother’s face hidden behind the map he had found in the glove compartment of the car they had taken as theirs a few miles from the church. 

 

The sun had started to go down as they’d finished getting everything ready for their trip, and the moon was high in the sky by the time they found a car which could take them all the way to the city. 

 

“This road is going to take us to-”

 

“SHUT THE FUCK UP, CONNOR! YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN TO ATLANTA ANYWAY!” Murphy yelled at his older brother, kneeling on his seat to look  back and take a swipe at Connor’s head with his open palm. 

 

“You little shit!” Connor snarled as he moved to grab Murphy’s hand, pulling at him and not noticing his slight whimper of pain as his chest and his arm - since he still had it bandaged against it - collided against the back of his seat. 

 

“Let go!” Daryl yelled as he took one hand off the wheel to throw a punch back at Connor, doing so again, trying to get the oldest MacManus to let go of Murphy. 

 

“Stop!” Carol yelled, “Stop the car right this instant or so help me God!” 

 

The three men stopped struggling immediately, the car slowly coming to a stop at the side of the road. The heavy breathing of the three angry men inside of the car the only sound audible. 

 

As soon as it fully stopped, Carol opened her door and got out. The three men scrambled to get their doors open, the sound of the cars slamming resonating in the darkness as Carol started pacing up and down parallel to the road. 

 

“Carol-”

 

The growl Connor got, as an answer from their woman, made the three man feel like little kids as they stood shoulder to shoulder watching her. Suddenly, after going back and forth a couple more times, she stopped in front of them. She took a deep breath, looking at the night sky as she let it out, before addressing the men before  of her. 

 

“Please, don’t fight, not right now.” Her breathing was not calm yet, and they all longed to bring her closer to them, but she was clearly not up to doing so right then. “We’re all worried, we’re all tense, but I can’t handle it if you all start fighting one another.”

 

“Sorry,” Murphy and Daryl softly murmured at the same time. Connor was the only one meeting her eyes, giving her a solemn nod. 

 

A small smile appeared on her face. “Alright-”

 

“Get down!” Daryl called, pulling Carol down roughly as lights of a car suddenly appeared down the road. Watching behind their parked car, they saw as the dark vehicle passed them at full speed not even slowing down a little as it did so. 

 

“Son of a bitch! It’s the car that took Beth!” 

 

“Come on!” As if they had been able to read each other’s thoughts, Connor and Daryl picked up a rock smashing the tail lights. “We can still catch up to them!”

 

The four scrambled back into the car. Their mission to bring medications back to Mika had just turned into a rescue mission as well. Connor hugged Carol closer to him as they sat in the backseat watching the car drive ahead of them. 

 

They just hoped it wouldn’t come too late for either little girl. 

 

-.-.-.

 

There had been silence since they had started chasing the car down the highway. No one had dared to say anything as they watched the white cross stay at a reasonable distance so they wouldn’t lose it, but yet wouldn’t be caught following them. 

 

The ‘Welcome to Atlanta’ sign had been left behind minutes ago as their only lead drove in front of them. 

 

“We could jump them, get the information of where they have Beth and try and get back to Mika before dawn,” Connor said, looking at Carol who had fallen into a restless sleep against his chest just a few minutes ago. 

 

“But if they don’t talk, we’re back to square one.” Daryl looked at his brother on the mirror, giving him a small smile. There was never need for an apology between them, not for squabbles like the one they’d had. Carol usually didn’t reprimand them for it, understanding them, but they all knew she had been going through a rough time, they all had. 

 

“They might have supplies, things which could help Mika,” Murphy added squinting as he looked through the windshield, slapping Daryl’s arm to let him know the car was slowing down. 

 

“I know, I know!” Daryl barked at his brother, slowing to a halt as they watched from about half a block away. 

 

“What are they doing?” Daryl wondered out loud as he killed the engine, they were running low on gas and couldn’t waste any without knowing how long it would take them to get to where they were going. “Is that a cop?”

 

They watched anxiously as the men in the car got out, the darkness both giving them cover, but at the same time hindering them. “Wake Carol up,” Murphy murmured as they continued watching. 

 

“Love,” Connor said softly, kissing the side of Carol’s face without taking his eyes out of the danger up ahead. 

 

Daryl raised his eyebrows as he saw Murphy take out his gun. “They might have seen us,” his brother answered his unspoken question. He just nodded, looking back at where he could hear Connor and Carol murmuring low enough to make it incomprehensible for the two of them. 

 

“You good back there?”

 

“Yea-”

 

“Son of a bitch!” Murphy yelled as a walker suddenly slammed into his side of the window, the unexpected appearance making them all jump and reach for their weapons. 

 

“Shit!” Connor exclaimed as he rolled down his window quickly, using the fact that the walker was busy scratching at Murphy’s window to reach half of his body out of the car and slam his knife into its head. “Everybody down!” he ordered as he threw himself over Carol, watching  the officers who had gotten out of the car start to walk back towards it. 

 

Daryl could feel Murphy’s breath against the back of his head from where the two of them had leaned into the middle of the car, the heavy breathing of the four of them resounding loudly inside the enclosed space. 

 

They waited a minute, then another, until the car’s door closed and the sounds of it driving away told them they were safe to get up.

 

“We follow?” Daryl asked, waiting for the general consensus before doing so. 

 

“We do.” Carol’s voice was set as she commanded them to continue with their mission. Only to have Daryl curse when the engine wouldn’t turn over . 

 

“No, no, no, no,” he begged as he turned the switch, once and again. The motor making a noise, but not actually starting. “We’re out of gas, we were running on fumes there at the end.”

 

The sound of shuffling and moaning entered the small car from the open window on Connor’s side, more and more adding to the few they had initially heard with every moment that passed. 

 

“We need to find cover, it’s too dark to try and face them,” Daryl muttered squinting to try and see how many walkers they would be up against if it came to that. “Carol I know we-”

 

“It’s okay,” Carol said as she put a hand on Daryl’s shoulder, looking up front at the incoming herd, “we can’t help her if we’re dead.”

 

They started getting ready to leave, taking the bags they had brought with supplies in case something like this happened. They had hope to get back to the church tonight, but they also knew realistically it was probably going to take more time. Nothing was easy nowadays. 

 

“Where to, Decks?” Murphy asked, as he lowered his head enough to get the messenger bag over his head and on his good shoulder. “Any idea where we can stay for the night?”

 

“I know a place.”

 

Carol led them to a series of offices in a nearby building. The front doors had been barricaded, so they tried for the service entrance. A service entrance that was closed with multiple locks. 

 

“Come on, move it,” Murphy muttered as he rested his shoulder against the wall, shining light on Connor as he knelt trying to pick the lock. “We could have just kicked the door in by now.”

 

“It actually opens out, not in.” Murphy made a face at Connor’s statement. “And even if you had been able to, then we wouldn’t be able to use the lock, leaving us without the extra protection,” Connor murmured as he looked quickly over his shoulder at where Carol and Daryl were keeping guard a few feet from them. “If you stopped bitching for five seconds and stopped moving the light from where I actually need it…”

 

“Fuck off, Connor.”

 

“There,” Connor said, not paying even minimal attention to what his brother said as the door finally opened, “we’re in.”

 

He pulled the door open, snatching the flashlight from Murphy before venturing in. Gun ready as he took the first few steps into the unknown building. The door closed behind Daryl with a thud. 

 

They moved silently, guided only by Carol’s signs as they made their way through the staircases and up a couple of floors. The place was eerie, almost haunted. Their eyes were open for the undead, their ears ready to signal the rest of them at the first sound of trouble. 

 

Nothing other than the four of them moved in those hallways. 

 

“This is seriously fucked up,” Murphy muttered as Connor and Daryl kept special care in keeping him and Carol between them at all times. 

 

“It fucking makes me think of  _ the shining _ , creepy as fuck.”

 

“I had nightmares from that movie for weeks,” Daryl added, as he crouched down inspecting one of the few bodies they had found upstairs. He slammed his knife into the corpse’s head, no use in putting themselves in danger for something as stupid as thinking someone was not going to reanimate just because they didn’t immediately. They had learned their lesson with Hershel. The corpse had a set of keys, which Daryl quickly pocketed. 

 

“How old were you?” Carol asked, moving past Connor as she pointed at a door at the end of the corridor. The glass panel to one side broken, if by someone who had raided the place before them or people running from it, unknown to them. 

 

“Four or five, I reckon…”

 

That made the three of them turn and look at him, Daryl grunted when Connor shined the flashlight in his face. “Merle?” Carol asked, trying to keep her laughter under control as they returned to their task. 

 

“Merle,” was all Daryl said in response to her question. 

 

Carol was still shaking her head as she turned the knob for the door which read  ‘service center’, glaring at Connor who moved past her, being the first one to enter the room. 

 

“Really good manners, those of your brother,” Carol jokingly said to Murphy and Daryl, as they entered behind the oldest MacManus. 

 

“I know how to treat a lady, if you want to know,” Connor answered back, moving further in and shining the light all over the first office. “These  are just new manners, manners in the time of the walkers.”

 

“So you’re still a gentleman?”

 

“Fuck yes.”

 

“What is this place?” Murphy asked as he pushed papers around with his boot, crouching down to pick some up to try and read with the small amount of light he got from the moon shining through the windows. 

 

“A shelter,” Carol said as she started to open up cabinets as if looking for something. “A domestic violence shelter.” 

 

The three brothers winced at the implications of her familiarity with this specific shelter meant in the great scale of things. Connor and Murphy knew about Ed, about what Carol had gone through before  _ and  _ after the dead began walking when it came to her former husband. They knew both what Carol had told them, in late night pillow talk as they’d shared things about their previous lives… as well as what Daryl had told them about the short time he had known the man. 

 

“Is that why…” Daryl murmured pointing the light to the two doors that seemed out of place in the small room. 

 

“Yeah,” Carol said absentmindedly, still looking for something. “The doors led to some rooms, they had those if you arrived during the weekend…”

 

She had seemed to find what she was looking for, as she pulled a plastic folder filled with documents from the cabinet. 

 

“You alright?” Murphy, who was closer to her, was the first one to ask as he put his arm around her waist, looking over her shoulder at what she was gazing at. 

 

“Yeah,” she turned in his arms, raising on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss before pulling away. “This way.” 

 

Connor and Daryl shook their heads, pushing first one of the desks to cover the door they were not going to use; before moving the file cabinet she had been browsing through to cover the door they had used for entry. The weight wouldn’t keep someone out, but it would give them enough time to prepare if anything tried to come through there. 

 

The three men followed her as she moved to open the remaining door. Daryl passed her the keys to try when it wouldn’t budge, the four of them sighing in relief when one of those keys worked. The office wasn’t that small, but Carol seemed to have a better place in mind for them to spend the night. 

 

The door opened to a dark hallway, and for once, Carol didn’t let either of her boys push ahead of her. Her gun in one hand, her flashlight in the other, she started making her way towards the back. Knowing exactly where she was going. 

 

The room in the back, where she had spent that night a few months before the turn with Sophia was still as bare as it had been when they had been there. 

 

“We only stayed for a night,” Carol said softly unprompted as she started taking off her pack and rifle. “Ed got wind of where we were and well…”

 

There was no need for her to finish the sentence. 

 

Without saying a word they started pulling things out of their bags, while Daryl made sure the window wouldn’t give them away if they lit up one or two candles. They were lucky, the window overlooked an inner courtyard, so with that in mind, it wasn’t long before the four of them were sitting around in the low light passing one of the few cans of food they had with them. 

 

“Was it long before everything went to shit?” Murphy was the one who finally broke the silence, giving his brothers a look when they both glared at him. “What? You guys were curious too…”

 

“It wasn’t, that’s why I wanted to see if they still had this,” Carol said with a sad smile as she grabbed the plastic folder from beside her on the floor. “Look.” 

 

The three men moved closer to her, as she opened it and started pulling documents from it. Without saying a word, she started passing them to her boys, a bittersweet smile on her face. 

 

“She looked so much like you,” Murphy murmured softly as he ran his thumb over the picture of Sophia he had in his hand. 

 

“That was my exact same hair color, when I was her age.” Her voice broke as Daryl pulled her to sit on his lap, his arms surrounding her as she started crying. “She had the sweetest smile.”

 

“That she did,” Daryl murmured, hiding his face and his own tears in her hair. “Just like her mama.”

 

Connor smiled as he looked over the papers in his hands. Copies of Sophia’s birth certificate, passport, and school I.D. Little things which had seemed so meaningless before the world went to shit, but now for Carol, meant the world. 

 

“When we lost the farm, I lost all the pictures I had of her.” She was sniffing between words, giving Connor a teary smile as he took one of her hands in his and brought it to his lips to kiss it. “All I had left was…”

 

“Her hair tie.” Carol couldn’t help but smile when both Connor and Murphy finished the sentence for her. 

 

“And the necklace Daryl got me,” Carol said as she pulled away to look at Daryl, feeling more tears spill down her cheeks as she noticed his red rimmed eyes. “But that was lost the day the prison fell.”

 

“Well… about that,” Daryl said, smiling slightly when Connor pulled Carol to his lap as he raised his hips to be able to get what he had from his pocket. “I might have-”

 

His words died in his throat as he pulled the chain out, but together with the necklace the two other things he kept in that same pocket came out with it. The thud of the jasper stone hitting the floor went unnoticed as all of their eyes immediately went to the white gold ring which appeared to be dancing before it stalled right in front of them. 

 

Even with the low light, the diamonds sparkled like stars in the Georgia night sky. “Pookie?” Carol asked softly as she moved from Connor’s lap to pick up the ring between her fingers. “Is there something you need to tell us?” 

 

Daryl groaned, dropping his head until his chin was resting against his chest unable to look at them. At least there was mirth in her voice, he wouldn’t be able to take it if it had been anger… or indifference. 

 

“I…” Daryl started, raising his eyes a little to look at her. Her mouth was raised in a side smile, and Daryl took courage from it. “I…”

 

“I will you know, marry you.” Her grin was huge, her sadness momentarily forgotten. “I knew Murphy would try to get you to be the one to pop the question,” she mock glared at Murphy. 

 

But it was then when she realized Murphy looked as shocked as she was, her eyes seeking Connor’s only to see him grinning, finding the situation incredibly funny. 

 

“Murphy?” 

 

“He got it all on his own, love,” Murphy said, as he stopped gaping at his brother like a fish out of water, his good arm thrown over his back just under Connor’s. “I didn’t even broach the subject with him.”

 

“Connor?”

 

“Murphy told me this afternoon, I might have already called you my wife once or twice to others so I would be incredibly honored if we made it official.” 

 

“Daryl?” When her attention was brought back to him he couldn’t do anything but tell her the truth. 

 

“When I lost you, my biggest regret was that I’d never told you how I felt,” Daryl’s voice broke, making him have to clear his throat before he continued. 

 

Carol was kneeling in front of them, the ring still in her hands as she looked at them with wonder. 

 

“I should have told you how much I love you, I should tell you I love you every single day of my life.” There were tears in his eyes, and as he turned to look at his brothers he found they were tearing up as well. “When I saw this ring, I immediately thought of you.”

 

Daryl took a deep breath, moving to kneel in front of Carol feeling as his brothers paralleled his movements. “I’m not good with comfort, not like Conn is; nor do I have the ability to get you to smile even in the darkest time like Murph can…” 

 

Slowly, Daryl raised his hand softly plucking the ring from her fingers. He looked at Murphy first, and then at Connor, before returning to look at Carol. “But I know I can give you strength, and I think the three of us love you with everything we are…”

 

Daryl shook his head, dropping his head as the words got stuck in his throat unable to come through. He raised his face once more when he felt two hands clasp his, the one he was holding onto the ring with. 

 

“What Declan is trying to say is what I already asked, Connor has already called you ours, and Daryl went through all that trouble to get you the ring…” Murphy’s smile only made Carol’s smile even bigger. 

 

“Would you become ours, under our God and under the proper title, love?” Connor finished from where Murphy had left off. 

 

Carol just nodded, she just nodded before she threw herself into their arms. The sound of Daryl landing and getting all the air knocked out of him as they landed on top of him made them laugh as Connor was the one to put the ring on her finger. 

 

“I love you, I love you all so much.”

-.-.-.-

 

“Hey squirt,” Zach said softly, looking down at Mika where she was lying down on the couch in Gabriel’s office. “It’s time for your meds.”

 

“Do I have to?” Her voice was small and raspy, because as much as they had tried, she was spending more time sleeping than she spent awake and she was quickly dehydrating because of her fever. 

 

“Mama Carol will be disappointed if you don’t,” Zach’s voice was cheery, stealing a look at Michonne who entered the room, before looking down at Mika once more. “And it’s grape flavored.”

 

“I hate grapes,” Mika grunted as she tried to sit up, whimpering in pain as the muscles in her shoulder contracted. 

 

“Easy, squirt, easy.” Zach’s eyes immediately sought Michonne’s, he calmed down once he found her the picture of tranquility. 

 

“You have to take the meds, darling,” Michonne said softly as she ventured further into the room. “I know they taste funny but it’s going to help with the fever.” Without words she shooed Zach away, taking the medicine from him before shimmying her way under Mika and cuddling with her. 

 

“What Zach doesn’t know is the special powers of Mother’s cuddles, they help with the pain and lower the fever.” 

 

“I want Carol,” Mika whimpered as a few tears started to make their way down her already tear-dampened cheeks. “And Murphy.”

 

“I know I’m not them, sweetheart,” Michonne whispered against the girl’s hot forehead as she settled in with her, “they went to get your medicine, but I can help.”

 

Mika nodded sleepily against Michonne’s neck, where she had settled as she fell asleep trying to win her over once more. 

 

Michonne just gave Zach a sad smile as he left the room to get more water for Mika. They had a long night and day ahead of them. 

 

-.-.-.

 

Connor was the first one to notice Daryl’s head snapping up and turning towards the door. His brother only gave him a small nod as they slowly started to make their way towards it, picking up their guns, crossbow and knife on their way out. 

 

“Don’t try to get out of helping making the bed, you two asshats,” Murphy called after them, from where he was kneeling in the middle of one of the two mattresses they had pulled down to the floor . “I fucking hate it too.”

 

“Shhh,” Daryl said motioning for Carol and Murphy to stay back as him and Connor followed the banging through the hallway. “Stay there,” he called back as he saw Murphy and Carol move towards them. “We’ll call if we need your help, stay alert.”

 

It was proof of how much they trusted each other, that both Carol and Murphy just nodded, following his instructions. 

 

“What is it?” Connor asked, as he looked over his shoulder to Daryl as they continued down the dark hallway. “Do you recognize it?”

 

“Just think about it,” Daryl murmured, “where we are…” he sighed as they reached the end of the hallway to find two frosted glass doors; to where two walkers were banging their fist against the barrier. 

 

“They probably got wind of our scent, that’s why it took them so long,” Connor said softly, neither of them wanting to broach the subject of the clearly young walker in one of the rooms. 

 

“Carol doesn’t need to see this.” 

 

“Neither do you,” Connor said softly, taking Daryl’s wrist in his hand as he went to open the door leading to the smaller of the two walkers. “Don’t think I don’t know this will hit you hard, let me.”

 

“Connor…”

 

“That’s what big brothers are for, baby boy.”

 

Daryl groaned, dropping his head to rest his forehead on his brother’s shoulder. It wasn’t common that Connor teased him with being the youngest, but whenever he did he used that nickname he tried to pretend he wasn’t fond of. Especially when it was Carol using it on him. 

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Go and get rid of the other one, I got this.” Daryl nodded, moving to the other door and watching as Connor moved closer to him in case it was needed. There was only one female walker in the other room who fell dead for good with a bolt in her forehead. 

 

“Yours,” Daryl said softly, moving to stand beside where the door would open just as Connor had done for him. It had been a boy, no older than eight with jet black hair who snarled at the oldest triplet as the door was opened. There was no one else with him in the room. 

 

Connor clamped a hand on Daryl’s shoulder, shaking his head when he noticed his brother’s eyes on the boy’s corpse. “C’mon, brother,” he sighed as he started pulling Daryl away, “we have our wife waiting for us.”

 

His words didn’t have the response he was expecting them too, as Daryl sighed stopping in the hallway to turn and rest his back against the wall. He looked anxious and terrified, making Connor chuckle slightly as he mirrored his position across the narrow hallway. 

 

“You already did the hardest part, brother, and she said yes.” 

 

Daryl chuckled, his hand raising to bring his thumb to his mouth only stopping when he saw the look Connor was giving him. “‘S not that.”

 

“You shouldn’t have looked.”

 

“Couldn’t help it,” Daryl said as he shrugged, his eyes going towards the light at the end of the corridor where they knew the rest of their heart was waiting for them. “It’s always hard when it’s kiddies.”

 

“Reminders of Sophia?”

 

Daryl just nodded, sniffing slightly as he looked up, as if trying to keep the emotions at bay. 

 

“That’s why you didn’t want Carol to come with us.” It was more of a statement than a question from his older brother, and Daryl just gave him a look as an answer. 

 

“Right,” Connor said sighing as he moved towards Daryl, pulling him into a hug. “I wish I could have been there, for both of you.”

 

“I didn’t even do anything, I just watched like a tit as she walked out of that barn…”

 

“Hey,” Connor shook him slightly, “you did the most important thing, you gave Carol the strength to carry on. I know what happened that day, I know how it was you who kept her from running to your little girl.”

 

Daryl’s head snapped up as he heard Connor mutter those words. “She wasn’t mine…”

 

“In the end, in what matters, baby brother... She was.” 

 

Daryl just closed his eyes, allowing his oldest brother’s arms to hold him up for a moment. Just a moment while he processed everything that had happened in such a short time. The pictures, the proposal… it made the wealth of feelings hum just barely beneath the skin, and made it harder to push them down when they tried to overcome them. 

 

“You good?” Connor asked a few minutes later, as he started hearing both Murphy and Carol making more noise. “We need to get back, or they’ll think we’re walker chow now.”

 

“Are you going to make fun of me for crying?” Daryl said, chuckling as he didn’t even pretend to be wiping off the tears which had managed to fall from his eyes. 

 

“You get this one for free.”

 

“Piss Bugger off.” 

 

Connor chuckled as he pushed Daryl in front of him, the light becoming brighter and the noise louder the closer they got to the open door. 

 

“You ready?” Connor whispered to Daryl as he saw him linger a little too long to take that last step which would bring them back to the rest of their family. “Or do you need a few?”

 

Daryl shook his head, walking inside with Connor close on his heels. 

 

“You little shit!” Connor whisper yelled when he looked over Daryl’s shoulder, who had stopped just a few feet inside the room, to see Carol straddling Murphy as they kissed. “You didn’t wait for us!”

 

Connor’s voice seemed to bring the two on the mattresses back to reality as Carol pulled back, peering at both Connor and Daryl with a dazed look. 

 

“You were taking too long, and you know our woman,” Murphy said smiling up at Carol, as he started running his hands up and down her still clothed sides, “if she gets too much off time, she starts thinking about stuff she shouldn’t be…” He didn’t finish the sentence, choosing to give Carol a look instead. 

 

“And you were keeping her distracted?” Connor said, his tone light as he pushed Daryl a little so he could actually close the door and lock it behind them. 

 

“Of Course, we all need a little distraction right now if you ask me…”

 

“No one did,” Daryl muttered, cheeks still flaming as he moved to ready his crossbow in case it was needed, before leaving it on the desk with his knife and gun. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to join in, but as he felt their stares on his back, he froze. 

 

What if he wasn’t what she was expecting him to be? What if he utterly sucked at it and his brothers made fun of him? What if she regretted it later because they were enjoying themselves while Mika and Beth were God knows in what condition?

 

“Pookie?” Carol said softly, a lot closer than Daryl was expecting her to be, making him jump as he turned around. He could see an already half naked Connor looking at them from beside a fully naked Murphy, Carol raised her hand to his cheek making him look at her, to forget about his brother’s presence for a moment. 

 

“It’s okay if you don’t want to, I love you all the same.” Daryl could only sigh as he turned his head to kiss her palm. “Connor doesn’t like it either, but that’s not why I love you. You know that, right?”

 

“Yeah,” Daryl murmured, feeling as the tension started to leave his body little by little. “I just don’t want to fuck it up.”

 

“You won’t,” Murphy said from the bed, not abashed at all by his state of undress. “We’ll guide you through it.”

 

“Come to bed, husband?” Carol asked Daryl, a playful smile on her face as she took his hand with hers. The hand which had her ring on it, the ring that told everyone that she belonged to them just as they belonged to her. Mind, body, and soul. 

 

“Yes, wife.” 

 

-.-.-.

 

Zach looked worriedly to Mika as he heard Sasha cry out in grief. The girl continued to sleep, her fever high, going up once more when it wasn’t yet time to be able to give her another dose of her medication. 

 

Sasha crying could only mean one thing, Bob had died. He had found out about the medic’s fate from Michonne when he asked why the one person they had with medical knowledge hadn’t taken the time to go see the little girl. 

 

Shit fucking kept on happening to them. And now their family had not only lost another member, but it was being fractured by those getting ready to leave. They started to get everything together at first light. 

 

Zach looked sadly from the doorway, where he was guarding Mika like a bulldog, as Glenn and Maggie started saying their goodbyes. Apparently, according to what he had heard in bits and pieces as he tended to his newly adopted sister, the Rhees had promised Abraham and company they would go with them to D.C. 

 

Somewhere along the way, Maggie had decided to stop looking for her sister and follow that ginger troll and his fucking mission. He couldn’t help but huff, turning his back on them and going back to Mika ignoring Maggie as she moved to take a step closer towards him. 

 

They hadn’t been that close. Yes, he had been dating her sister, and yes; Hershel had given him the third degree… but him and Maggie had never really bonded. However, it didn’t hurt any less. It was partly his fault Beth was gone, if not completely, but to see her sister ready to leave without even trying to find her? That just was wrong in his book. 

 

He had just been an older brother for a couple of days, and he was sure he would maim anyone who tried to get in between him and Mika. To think that Maggie was giving up on Beth already, if he was honest, more than broke his heart. 

 

“She’s trying.” Zach’s head snapped to look at the door where Glenn was lingering, looking scared of what he might say. “Her feelings are still raw after what happened with Hershel…”

 

“She’s running,” Zach said, jaw clenched. “She’s fucking leaving her sister behind.”

 

“We don’t know if she’s still alive,” Glenn said, defending his wife. “She could be dead for all we know. She doesn’t want to chase any more ghosts.” Glenn smiled sadly. “She  _ can’t _ chase any more ghosts.”

 

“It’s her sister.”

 

“I know.” Glenn shook his head, sighing as he took a step closer to Zach. “We want you to come with us.”

 

“Fuck no!” Zach immediately turned to look at Mika, sighing in relief when he realized his outburst hadn’t woken her. “I’m not going to abandon my family over some pipe dream.” His voice was low as he spat out the words to Glenn. “And I’m not abandoning Beth either.”

 

Glenn sighed, turning and walking out of the room, nothing left to say. He listened sadly as everyone started to walk out of the church to finalize saying goodbye. 

 

Silence fell upon them, only Sasha’s muffled sobs could be barely heard through the walls. He closed his eyes as he slumped into the space on the couch Mika wasn’t using. He understood Glenn, although he was sure he wasn’t in love with Beth he would have done the same as he was doing if the roles were reversed. Or not, if that meant leaving any of his newfound family behind. 

 

As Zach checked Mika’s temperature once more, the sound of the engine taking part of their extended family, disappeared as it got further and further away. He just hoped the next car they heard, was his family coming back to them. 

 

-.-.-.

 

It was the sound of birds that woke Carol up.

 

Her internal clock told her it was early, too early if the aches in her body were asked their opinion. But even half asleep she knew they couldn’t linger, not even as much as she wanted to. But even her, in her haste, knew they couldn’t do anything until the sun was fully up. She would enjoy every single minute she was allowed of this bliss it was to be in the middle of a triplet pile. 

 

The night had been like nothing she could have ever imagined. The boys had given her the wedding night she had dreamt of as a girl, the one she hadn’t even gotten close to getting from Ed when they had done the whole proper marriage thing. The man had been so pissed out drunk he hadn’t even been able to get it up, and of course that had been Carol’s fault. 

 

If she based it on what she had experienced last night, it had definitely not been her fault. 

 

Daryl huffed as he tried to burrow his face even more into her hair, and she tried to stop herself from laughing as she felt him tug at some of the locks as he ended up with a mouthful of it. He never woke though. 

 

He had been the more exhausted one at the end of the night after all. It had been quite clear, as things had progressed last night that Daryl had no experience whatsoever. It had been under the gentle guidance of the three of them that he had started to relax and just let things flow. 

 

It would take Carol a long time to be able to erase from her mind Daryl’s sounds as she explored every inch of his naked skin. The look of lust in his blue eyes as he watched her kiss his scarred chest, just as Murphy made her moan out in pleasure. 

 

Connor’s tender words while holding her as Murphy showed Daryl how to get her to make those noises on his own. 

 

The incredible tenderness as they laid together, panting and sweaty, but together in the aftermath. The gentle teasing Daryl received from his brothers as he was the first one to be knocked out. 

 

Murphy’s kisses before he too fell asleep almost on top of her, leaving her pinned between the identical men. Connor’s sweet caresses as they spoke in low voices over Daryl’s head before sleep defeated them. 

 

The deep rest that she had gotten for the first time since they had slept that last night before everything went to shit at the prison. The way her ring sparkled in the dying embers of the candles scattered around the room. 

 

“Regretting it already?” Carol startled as she looked from where she was looking at her finger with her ring intensely to Connor, who was on his side his head supported by his hand. 

 

“Never.”

 

Connor grinned, moving slowly and pulling her into a short kiss, minding the fact that Daryl was still between them.  “Sometimes I doubt you even have the notion of how much I love you,  _ A rúnsearc _ .”

 

Carol could feel as her cheeks started to redden, mock glaring at Connor as he started snickering, apparently finding it hilarious. 

 

“There will never be anyone else, Carol, there  _ has  _ never been anyone else.” Carol smiled tenderly at Connor, pulling him closer into a deep kiss by his hair as he hovered above her. 

 

The romantic moment was broken when the arm Connor was using to keep himself from draping over Daryl slipped, making him crash into his completely unsuspecting brother. 

 

Things happened fast after that. They ate breakfast, three protein bars divided between the four, before leaving the shelter behind to continue looking for their initial intent. 

 

Every single pharmacy they found had been looted. Carol had to keep Daryl from throwing a rack though a glass window after they found the exact same result on the fourth one they went through. 

 

Walkers were still the biggest threat in the city, having forced them to avoid streets they knew would take them places quicker; as well as making it impossible for them to reach other well known places. And yet, there were parts of the city which were completely devoid of them. They rushed in the shadows, going into every pharmacy they found in their path. 

 

It was around ten when Carol forced them all into a building, where they could regroup after yet another failed attempt at getting the medications. The building closest to the rundown Walgreens had probably been the parking lot structure to the headquarters to some big name corporation. Now as they darted across the nearly empty lot, it just felt like yet another one of the nightmarish scenarios they had learned to live with.  

 

“We need to find some yellow pages,” Carol called out as she made her way towards what the signs called ‘sky bridge’. “We can try and find a map too.”

“We need to stop just running around like headless chickens,” Daryl said before stopping as he almost crashed into Carol’s back when she stopped suddenly in front of him. 

“What the hell…” 

Daryl could only nod in agreement to Murphy’s words as the four of them watched what had been once apparently survivors from the initial turn worm their way around the floor stuck inside their sleeping bags after having turned. 

“Do you reckon they died in their sleep?” Connor asked as he knelt to slam his knife into one of the walker’s head.

“It’s seems rather convenient, that all of them did…” Murphy left his sentence hanging as he followed behind Carol, wincing as he stretched, trying to work out the kink in his upper back from having his arm in a made up sling. "Do you think....?"

 

"They died of some kind of poisoning," Daryl's deeper voice answered the incomplete question. "Maybe something in the air?"

 

"It could have been because of something else the government dropped in here," Carol murmured softly watching as Daryl aimed and shot the one walker which roamed free of either a tent or a bag. "Maybe they didn't just torch it."

 

Daryl shrugged, signaling to Connor to follow his lead as Carol and Murphy took watch. Quickly both brothers went through the walkers they had just killed, taking everything which could be of use to them. 

 

"It's a damn shame though," Daryl mumbled as they continue forward looking at the camping gear sadly. "Those would have helped a whole lot."

 

"We would need to come back for those later." Carol's voice reached him as he tried to decide if it was worth the effort to put down the walkers inside of the tents, or to just leave them be. "We need to get those medications first."

 

The doors at the other end of the bridge were chained closed, but the chain was long enough to give them enough space to be able to slip through and into the office building. Much to Connor's chagrin, Carol went first, her hands coming back to take first hers and then Murphy's bag before his brother grunted in pain as he made his way through the same passage. 

 

"Look at the bright side, at least you didn't eat a big breakfast." Daryl smirked as he saw the look Murphy gave him as he followed him through. 

 

"You should be thankful you're a good hunter, cause as a comedian you would fucking starve."

 

Carol couldn't help but smile through her nerves as she heard Daryl's barking laugh and Murphy's disgruntled voice behind her as she pushed further in. The place was deserted, everyone having clearly evacuated way before it had gotten bad enough to leave lasting damage. It was strange in a way, as they made their way through the offices searching for both the map and the yellow pages, to see something which had seemed to be mostly untouched by the terror out there. 

 

To find secret stashes of candy in the interns’ workroom, and a brand new water bottle beside the abandoned cooler it was supposed to go on was a bonus. Daryl's whistle alerted them of his position, and the three of them regrouped from where they had spread out. 

 

"Boss’s office," Daryl said as he looked at the Atlanta map stuck to one of the walls. "We just need to-"

 

"Ahead of you, little brother," Connor said as he slammed the thick book over the old mahogany desk. "I already started browsing through it, as those two seemed to have smelled the hidden chocolate like fucking hounds."

 

"Oh, but wouldn't she be the cutest hound ever?" Murphy said, a fake baby voice as he looked at Carol with mock heart eyes. Carol couldn't help but chuckle, shaking her head as she slapped Murphy on the ass as she walked past him. 

 

She knew what he was doing. Her Muffin was trying to keep her mind from wandering to the reason why they were actually there. He had noticed how her hands had begun to shake, offering her first a piece of chocolate he had found and then an encouraging smile as she slowly ate it. 

 

They all knew what was going through her head, because they were feeling it too. They didn't say it out loud; they didn't need to. They knew Mika was at the forefront of her thoughts, and if they could get her to worry less for even a minute, then that counted as a blessing. That she had been able to sleep at all had been a blessing on its own. 

 

There would be time later to talk about what they had gone through as a family the night before, there would be a time and place for them to even repeat it . But right now, they had to focus on the mission. 

 

"Hey." Carol jumped, startled as she felt Daryl's arm sneak around her waist, pulling her close. She hadn't even realized she was standing by the window, looking at what was left of the city she had once called home. "She's going to be just fine." 

 

She tried not to tense at Daryl's words. He had said those same words to her once before, about another little girl. About  _ her  _ little girl. 

 

"I'm sorry," Daryl muttered as he burrowed his face in the space between her face and her shoulder, his breath tickling her skin. "I promise I'm not going to fail you this time."

 

"You didn't fail me the first time either." Her hands had unconsciously moved to grasp his forearms where he had them crossed over her torso, feeling him shudder as she started running her nails up and down. 

 

"I didn't bring her home."

 

Carol didn't say anything to refute his statement. She knew there was nothing she could say to  convince him otherwise; it was just how her Daryl was. He carried the weight of things which weren’t even on him over his shoulders. And she just loved him more because of that. 

 

“What are those brothers of yours doing back there?” Carol asked, as she leaned further into his embrace, her eyes never moving from the desolated plains which was now Atlanta. 

 

“We’re almost finishing our plan of action, love,” Murphy said nuzzling the side of her face knowing just by her posture that she needed some love. “Connor has actually put that thing he has between his ears into use, and he almost has a route for us.” 

 

“What’s that?” Daryl murmured, pulling Carol’s rifle up and using the scope to look towards the bridge they could see in the distance. “There.”

 

Carol took the rifle from him, looking through the scope, only to see an ambulance which seemed to have been almost pushed off a bridge. An ambulance which bore the exact same crosses they had followed the night before. The exact same signs on the car which had taken Beth from Zach and Daryl. 

 

“It could be a lead,” Carol agreed as she pushed the rifle to Murphy, so he could take a look. “And it’s an ambulance, we might find some supplies there.”

 

“That’s probably a good idea,” Connor agreed as he joined them to look out the window. “We have already hit most of the clinics and pharmacies around here, someone has been very thorough.”

 

“There aren’t any more?” 

 

Connor tried not to wince as he heard Carol’s anxiety over the bad news he had just given them. “I circled the ones around here, we can hit these two on our way to the bridge… and there are two other near the other side.”

 

“Let’s go.” No one said otherwise, following their wife as she started making her way back to where they came from. They could try and find a car to take them faster to the bridge, since it was a few blocks away; or they would have to hurry their pace along. It was almost noon, and Mika had had the fever for almost twenty four hours by then. 

 

She was a woman on a mission, a mother with just one goal in mind. She should have waited for her men before venturing back towards the sky bridge. 

 

She had passed through the opening first, reaching it before anyone else had done so. She pushed her rifle through first, her bag next , just before she shimmied her way through. She was still chuckling at the grumpy mutterings of Daryl as he passed her his crossbow when the doors were suddenly slammed closed and a metal pipe was wedged between them. Her heart was beating a mile a minute as she heard her boys cry out for her as she looked in shock to the doors, before she turned and found herself face to face to her own canon. 

 

“I’m alright!” Carol called out to the boys, hearing as they started slamming something against the door as they tried to reach her. “I’m fine!” The banging stopped for a moment, as she raised up on her knees and then to her feet with her hands up in a clear signal of surrendering; Daryl’s crossbow hanging from her back.  

 

It was always more dangerous to be at the end of the canon of someone who clearly didn’t have any idea of what to do; than to be in front of someone who did. Clearly the boy, because she couldn’t call the dark skinned teenager in front of her other than that. 

 

“Don’t!” The first words the boy said to her as she took a step closer to him. They were filled with desperation as his scared eyes moved from her to the door where her boys had started causing a ruckus once more. “Tell them to stop it!”

 

“They’re not going to, not as long as you have me here where they can’t see me.” The banging was rousing the walkers they had left alive inside the tents as the boy pointed the gun at her. 

 

“Give me the crossbow.” Carol nodded, pulling the crossbow from her back and passing it to him. “I don’t want to hurt anyone, I just need weapons.”

 

“We can help you,” Carol said as she took a step closer to the boy, only taking it back as he raised her rifle pointing it right to the middle of her chest. “Just tell us what you need, and we’ll help.”

 

The boy snorted a humorless laugh as he started taking a few steps back, “Back up!” Carol did as she was told. She looked nervously at the walkers reaching for the boy while still inside of the tents, and didn’t know how long it would take them to be able to break free from their nylon cage; but she really didn’t want to be present for that. “Sorry about this.”

 

Carol barely had a chance to react as the boy turned and slashed the first tent allowing the walkers to roam out. Her heart was beating a mile a minute as she observed, shocked, the boy doing the same to the next tent; and the next; and the next. 

 

Her attention was off the boy as the walkers started approaching her. At least he hadn’t taken her knife, those were Carol’s thoughts as she pulled it out of the scabbard and got ready. Her boys were still fighting with the doors behind her, and the boy was long gone by the time the first walker reached her. 

 

She was the wife of Connor and Murphy MacManus, and of Daryl Dixon. She could take a few walkers on her own without problems. She blocked any other sounds but those of the walkers in front of her as she methodically took down one after the other. She couldn’t worry about where the boys were if she was going to survive unscathed. They would get to her whenever they were able. 

 

Daryl and Connor fell upon the floor as the doors suddenly banged open, just as Carol put the last walker down. She was filthy with blood of the walkers she had killed, but she was okay. They hadn’t lost her. 

 

“You okay, you bit?” Murphy said quickly, as he used his one good arm to do a quick pat down. “He didn’t do anything to you?”

 

Carol found herself slapping hands away when her boys started to anxiously try to check her over, understanding their worry, but at the same time a little annoyed at their reaction. “I’m fine, I just had to kill some fucking walkers.” 

 

Connor dropped a kiss to the side of her head, closing his eyes as he heard her curse. A bad habit she had gotten from the three of them for sure. 

 

“I’m sorry, Pookie,” Carol muttered, “he took your crossbow.”

 

“And your rifle.” Carol only nodded, sighing as she silently took the gun Connor offered her. She knew better than to argue, it might be just a five shooter but it was better than to be caught without anything nowadays. Murphy passed his extra gun to Daryl as well, as they stalked towards the entrance they had initially come through. 

 

“Fucking asshole,” Daryl muttered as he kicked the door only hearing the chain the kid had put on the other side rattle. “Gonna fucking kick his ass when we find him.”

 

They had barely spoken as they found their out of the building. They were all worried, anxious at having been caught off guard by a kid. And the less they talked, the more they allowed their thoughts to take over. 

 

The next few pharmacies were a bust for antibiotics, but they did find some painkillers stashed in the back; as well as a proper sling and a back brace for Murphy’s broken collarbone. No one asked why Carol knew exactly what they had been looking for, the thought of what her life had been before them too painful to touch right then. 

 

Overall, it didn’t take long to reach the bridge, and from there to walk across to the abandoned ambulance. 

 

“We need to be fast,” Daryl muttered, watching as the small herd which had been following them for a few blocks started to get bigger and closer than they had expected. “That’s more than we can handle without risk.”

 

“I’ll go,” Murphy said as he opened first one and then the other back door for what they now saw was an outdated ambulance. 

 

“You can barely even move, Malachy,” Connor scolded his brother pushing him towards were Daryl was standing, “I’m the one that’s gotta do it.” Daryl looked worried at his brother as the ambulance shifted making a groaning noise as he started pushing against the edge to get onto the back. 

 

“You’re too heavy for that shit, you fat ass!” Murphy yelled at his brother, back handing him in the chest as he pushed him away from the ambulance as he went to try again. “You watch my fucking ass while I do it…”

 

Daryl’s whistle snapped them back to attention, reaching for their guns as they saw it wasn’t just the herd they had been outrunning coming at them from one side, but walkers had noticed them from the other end of the bridge as well. 

 

“How we doing on ammo?” Daryl said, as he pulled his knife off his scabbard looking at Carol and nodding as he saw her do the same. 

 

“Carol’s got the five shooter, I have half a mag at the most,” Connor said moving to stand parallel to Daryl leaving Murphy and Carol between them. “We should try to make our way back…”

 

“Not without knowing where they came from,” Carol stated pushing Murphy forward as she quickly climbed up on the back of the ambulance. 

 

Daryl didn’t even get a chance to react to what Carol had said when the first walker was already upon them. There were more walkers than he had counted, with more coming from the side Connor was taking care of with every minute which passed. 

 

They needed to try and avoid using their guns, each bullet wasted on these walkers would probably attract three more. But they were only human, and with Murphy still half out of commission, Daryl had no idea how much longer they would be able to hold them off. 

 

It wasn’t until he tried to turn and give a quick look at his siblings that he realized he had drifted too far away from the ambulance. He barely reacted in time to push a walker away and slam his knife into its head as he watched stunned as the ambulance Carol had climbed on rocked by the force of the walkers which had apparently noticed her in there and decided not to pursue the three of them. 

 

They had drifted too damned far.

 

He watched, shocked as with one last bang from a walker, the van tipped over. 

 

Daryl didn’t even realize Murphy had started shooting walkers, his ears filled with the blood curdling scream Connor had let out, together with the sound of the van crashing under the bridge. 

 

He started running. 

 

-.-.-.-.

 

Connor and Murphy had started yelling at her to get out of the ambulance as soon as she had climbed in. Neither men were going to be able to do this, and Daryl, their only other option, had already started to kill walkers which had gotten too close to them. She was the safest bet, even her hard headed husbands had to understand that. 

 

She could hear the walkers as well as the grunts of her husbands as they killed them, as she crawled to the front. Carol chuckled nervously as she felt the vehicle groan as the weight inside of it shifted, grabbing onto the wheel to pull herself into the driver’s seat. 

 

The sounds of the walkers, and the fighting became louder, and she forced herself to stay calm as she looked through the papers in her hands instead of looking at her boys. She knew what they were capable of, she had to trust they were going to be alright. She did turn to look when she felt the van move once again. 

 

“Fuck!” The curse was just a reflex, as she scrambled to the back slamming her knife into the walker which had been able to get past her boys and climbed into the van. She looked quickly around as she saw more walkers approaching. Where were her boys?

 

She kicked a walker in the chest, just as she finally caught a glimpse of Connor about twenty feet from the van. She shot the next walker that got too close. 

 

“Connor!” Carol yelled, as she shot yet another one, being able to close one of the two back doors and keeping the walkers more controlled that way. “Connor!”

 

There were too many of them for her to fight through, her safest bet right then would be to save the four bullets she had left and pray for the best. 

 

The van started rocking as she heard more and more walkers slam into it’s back. She scrambled back to the front, to the passenger side. She watched through the window, putting on her seatbelt as her boys continued fighting with the walkers, the part of the heard closest to them thinning out.

 

Connor’s terrified eyes met hers as the van started to tip over. His eyes were the last thing she saw before she closed her eyes as the van started to fall.  

 

-.-.-.

 

One moment he was killing walkers, pulling out his gun and shooting them right and left; and the next Connor was screaming and Daryl was taking off in a full speed run… and the van wasn’t there. 

 

The fucking van Carol had climbed into  _ WASN’T THERE! _

 

Connor had grabbed him by the arm, pulling him behind him as he started giving Daryl chase. They had thinned out the herd on the outside so it wasn’t difficult to outmaneuver them. Even if his heart was breaking and he felt like he couldn’t breathe… or think… or speak. 

 

Carol had been inside that van, and apparently he had been the only one who hadn’t seen it. He stopped to help Connor up as he stumbled and fell on his knees after trying to follow Daryl as he jumped a flight of stairs. He couldn’t even feel his injured arm as he helped a limping Connor follow Daryl. 

 

Daryl who was brutally killing any walker standing in their way. 

 

Four shots were heard just as they finally reached the ground level. 

 

Murphy couldn’t help but stop abruptly as he got a first glance at the wheels-up van. A van surrounded by walkers. 

 

-.-.-.

 

She had been there, her sky blue eyes had met his and then she was gone. Just like that, in milliseconds … she was gone. Someone was yelling, and it wasn’t until he heard the van crash on the ground that he realized it was him. 

 

He was the one yelling as his wife fell - probably - to her death. He had just reacted, grabbing  Murphy and following Daryl. They had run harder than ever as they tried to reach their woman. He had barely realized there was something wrong with his knee when he felt like it was going to give out under him. He had to get to her. She had to be alright. 

 

There were walkers surrounding the flipped over van when they finally laid eyes on it. It was him who had reacted first, pushing Daryl from where he stood in shock looking lost. There had been gunshots, she had to be alright. 

 

Unless one of those gunshots had been for herself. 

 

The walkers falling from the bridge were not a real danger to them, as he forced Murphy to start moving towards the vehicle. They either ended up with a flat skull because of the fall, or they were unable to move because of the broken skeleton. 

 

The ones they had to worry about were those surrounding the van, especially those who had managed to crawl and had started to get inside. 

 

“Carol!” Connor yelled as he pulled his gun out, shooting  the walkers closest to the windows. “Carol!”

 

Daryl quickly followed his lead, moving to the other side and doing the same. Murphy supported him, trembling as he silently stood beside him. There was no response from inside the van. 

 

“Carol!” Connor’s voice broke as he shot the last walker standing, dropping to his knees without caring about the broken glass quickly cutting his palms. 

 

“Sweetheart?” He heard Daryl say from the other side, where his brother was on his stomach, looking through the squashed window. The two of them let out a deep sigh of relief as they heard a small whine of pain, followed by coughing, coming from the side closest to Connor. 

 

“Carol?” Murphy finally found his voice, kneeling beside Connor. 

 

“Hey, love,” Connor said softly as he basically laid down, his cheek pressing against the ground, not caring as the glass started cutting him there too. “You almost gave us a heart attack.”

 

“You deserve it, you jerk.” Connor didn’t even feel the pain as he grinned, his eyes meeting Daryl’s across the space as they heard her attempt at humor. “I’m stuck.”

 

“With us, yes you are…” Daryl snorted as he started trying to crawl his way into the van, grunting when he was unable to do so because of how much the roof had caved in. “We need to move back, but we’re right here… okay, love?” 

 

He knew her, and he knew she was scared. Who wouldn’t be after falling twenty feet in a free fall? Carol gave him a sharp nod, wincing when it made something hurt. 

 

“I love you,” Connor said, winking at her when he saw a small smile appear on her face. His face went back to showing worry as he moved back, unable to kneel because of the pain he was now beginning to feel. It was like now that he knew she was alive, and relatively unharmed, everything he had refused to feel hit him at once. 

 

He staggered onto his feet as Daryl walked around the van and helped both of his brothers up. 

 

“We can get her through the front, it’ll be easier.” Daryl said, running a hand through his hair and wincing as he realized there were still pieces of glass in them. 

 

“We could try tipping the van over…” Murphy muttered, looking at the vehicle with worry. 

 

Connor shook his head, sighing as he too noticed his arms, hands and cheek were bleeding because of the glass. “The windshield ... it’s the easiest way…”

 

It took them too long for their liking to get her out. First the windshield, and then her belt being stuck, together with their combined injuries, just made it almost impossible to be fast. The moment they were able to get her out of the van, she burst into tears. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Carol said as she burrowed her face in Daryl’s chest, pulling at Connor’s hand so he would plaster himself against her back, with Murphy resting his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s okay,” Connor repeated once and again as he dropped kisses to the top of her head. They should be moving, they needed to find those meds for Mika; they needed to find Beth. 

 

But they just needed a couple of minutes more to make sure she was alright, that they hadn’t really lost her after those terrifying moments they had just lived through thinking she was probably dead. 

 

They couldn’t lose her, because losing her would mean losing the best part of them. 

 

They had stayed even closer after that. They had slowly, because of the pain Carol was clearly in as well as Connor’s rapidly swelling knee, made their way back towards the city. Carol had found a paper inside the ambulance with the initials ‘GMH’, so at least they had a destination in mind. 

 

It was during a small break they had needed to take where they hit the jackpot. In the haste, they had all but forgotten about the map Connor and Murphy had drawn what seemed then like a lifetime ago. One small bright spot in their otherwise heinous day, one small miracle in their seemingly nightmare inducing mission… they had found an unlooted pharmacy at last. 

 

Daryl had thought he was going to weep  when they started bagging all the antibiotics, both kids and adult ones. When they were able to find anti inflammatories for his brothers and pain medication for his wife, he could barely contain himself. Carol had forced him and Connor to sit for a moment, and she had gently cleaned their wounds from the glass, applying antibacterial cream after she’d finished. 

 

Half of their mission was fulfilled. And now, as they made their way closer to Grady, they would have to make a decision about the other half. Would they try and find Beth, try and rescue her with half of them about to fall because of their injuries? Or would they wait and come back to fight another day?

 

None of them dared to voice their thoughts, that the girl might be dead already and they might be dooming another little girl by taking time looking for Beth. But whenever Daryl had thought of bringing up the subject, he would get a look from Carol effectively  shutting him up. 

 

Beth was one of their own, and they didn’t leave people behind. 

 

-.-.-.

 

“How much longer?” Rick asked Michonne softly as they both looked towards where both Zach and Mika were sleeping cuddling together. 

 

“She’s fighting, we’ve kept it as clean as possible…”

 

“If they don’t come back…”

 

Michonne shook her head, moving away from the office and sitting down on the first pew. “They will, you would do anything to get back to your children…”

 

Rick shook his head, dropping beside Michonne, leaning forward resting his elbows on his knees as he tried to take deep breaths. “I made a huge mistake.”

 

Michonne didn’t say a thing. She just waited, observing as Rick seemed to fight something inside himself before he finally looked up, looked at the image of Jesus on the cross before he fully turned to look at her. 

 

“I fucked shit up when I sent her away,” he sighed. “I had no idea…”

 

“That they were together?”

 

“That she was that important!” He lowered his voice as Michonne raised her eyebrow at him, “I thought Daryl would get over it, he had his brothers, and she had done something my brain just couldn’t-”

 

“She’s their everything,” Michonne said her voice low but hard, and Rick shuddered as he heard it. “You better make this right if you don’t want your ass kicked once more.”

 

“I tried, yesterday…” Rick huffed, running his hands through his hair, “she’s not-”

 

“Taking any of your bullshit?” Michonne declared, “good for her.”

 

“We’re going to lose them, and we can’t afford to.”

 

“Stop thinking like a manager and start thinking like a friend.” Rick winced as Michonne spat out her words. “We can’t afford to lose them because your kids love them, because Carol is the sweetest person ever, because we love them. Not because of how much they contribute to your cause.”

 

Rick watched in silence as Michonne got off her seat and walked out of the church. He had a lot to think about, and he had a lot to apologize for if he ever wanted their family to be back in good standings. The glares Carl sent him, Michonne’s words… even Tyreese’s pitiful looks were getting to him. He needed to make it right with them, he owed it to Carol and her family. He owed it to every one of them. 

 

-.-.-.

 

The building they were in was the best advantage point they could get on the hospital. The only thing worrisome was the fact that to have a better look they had to climb many flights of stairs, and Connor was clearly in no condition to do so. 

 

As they had rested and taken care of cuts and bruises, his knee had swollen enough that Carol had ended up cutting off the leg of his pants. Daryl had scoffed, but he had ended up carrying him in a piggyback ride for the last couple of flights. It had just made Connor even grumpier. 

 

There was no way they were going to storm into Grady that afternoon, not with Murphy’s broken collarbone and gunshot wound, not with Connor’s busted up knee, and not with Carol wincing in pain as she tried to put Murphy’s messenger bag across her chest. 

 

They were only going to do some recon, and they were going to get the hell away from that place. Daryl would drive them back to Mika, leave the three of them resting, and he would come back tomorrow ready to get Beth back. 

 

Daryl Dixon was not going to put his family in any more danger if there was something he could do to avoid it. 

 

“It’s them,” Carol called out as she approached one of the windows of the office they had entered, Daryl grunted dropping Connor off none too gently on the window seat. “The vans.”

 

“We need to scout their position, how many of them-” The sound of a door banging on their floor made Connor stop his tirade. 

 

“Wait here!” Daryl ordered as he gave his family a look, before turning and walking towards where the direction of the noise. Carol didn’t even think twice, following Daryl with her hand on her own knife as she felt Murphy move to pull Connor along. 

 

Daryl had his reasons, but they refused to be separated. Especially after what had happened the last time. 

 

“I told you to stay back there!” Daryl hissed at Carol as she caught up with him, not relenting even at the look she was giving him. “And don’t even think-”

 

“Shut up, Daryl.” Carol rolled her eyes, walking past the furious archer, “you’re not doing this alone.”

 

Daryl didn’t even bother to say anything to his brothers as they shuffled behind them. “You’re fucking heavy, asshole,” Murphy murmured to Connor as they tried to hurry enough to catch up with the other two. 

 

“Fuck you, it’s pure raw muscle,” Connor hissed in between teeth as he put too much weight on his damaged knee feeling as it buckled under his weight. 

 

“Is that yours?” Carol asked Daryl softly, touching his back as she saw him stare intently at the walker pinned to a wall. One of his bolts through its throat as it snarled, trying to reach them. 

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Lad has no idea of what to do with a crossbow, does he brother?” Daryl just grunted his answer, and Murphy knew it was an indication he needed to shut his mouth for good. They had learned how to read Daryl’s cues in their last six months together after all. 

 

A burst of gunfire had them all forgetting about the walker, the bolt, and the crossbow for a moment. Carol was closest to the end of the hallway, and before Daryl had even considered trying to stop her, she cut the corner. 

 

The boy was there, and he was fighting a walker bigger than himself. He clearly had no idea of what to do, looking around in panic and finally resting his eyes on Carol, who for a few seconds was all he could see. 

 

The boy was a survivor, and survivors did everything they could to do so. 

 

Carol braced for the impact, as the boy used all of his strength to throw the walker he was fighting against off of him and towards Carol. In normal circumstances, one lone walker would never be a problem for Carol. She had killed hundreds by now. 

 

Except she forgot her right side was more bruised than the other. As soon as the walker reached her, the stabbing pain in her chest as they collided sent her down on her back. Her shoulders screaming in pain as she used all of her strength to try and fight it off. This couldn’t be the end. It just couldn’t. 

 

Daryl felt as his heart stop once again, as he watched the walker fall on top of Carol. The scream which tore from her throat made his blood boil as he swung the machete he had picked up and just rammed it into the walker’s head. He grabbed the back of its clothes as it stopped moving, immediately pulling him off Carol and pulling her to her feet and into his arms. 

 

His hands roamed everywhere before finally resting on the side of her face. “You have to stop doing that to me.”

 

Carol chuckled, as she moved to hug him once again before he passed her over to his brothers. “I’m good,” Carol said as she allowed the other two to check her over. “I’m good.”

 

Daryl could hear the pain in her voice, and something inside him snapped. “I’m going to kill that little son of a bitch,” he growled as he stalked off, away from his family and hunting the boy who had almost cost them their wife. 

 

“He’s going to kill him,” Carol grunted as she started to follow Daryl as quickly as she could. She heard as Connor sent Murphy ahead, and felt as he sneaked his arm around her waist helping her along. 

 

“I got you, love.” Carol nodded, as she started walking faster with Murphy’s help. They needed to get to Daryl before he did something he would regret once his tempter wasn’t as fired up. 

 

They heard the crash before they got there, Daryl just getting to his feet as the boy laid under a bookcase and a walker started trying to make its way inside. 

 

“I’m good,” Daryl muttered as he watched both Carol and Murphy make their way to him, leaning down and getting his crossbow from where the boy had dropped it. 

 

“Please, please.” The boy said, a look of pure  terror on his face as the walker tried to shimmy its way through the half open door. “I needed to protect myself.”

 

Carol felt as those words in particular ignited the anger in both of the men surrounding her. Murphy just seemed to transform as he moved away from her and stalked towards the boy, Daryl doing the same thing himself. 

 

“You lying sack of shit!” Murphy said as he sneered down at the terrified boy. “She offered you our help!”

 

“Why are you following us?!” Daryl took over Murphy’s interrogation, leaning down as he screamed at the boy; just getting the walker who had been able to get half its torso through the opening more riled up. 

 

“I didn’t!” The boy yelled as he looked from Murphy to Daryl. “I thought it was the other way around!”

 

“Bullshit!” 

 

Carol shook her head, sighing as she saw Connor finally making his way to them. He looked worse for wear, grabbing onto the wall as he clearly avoided putting any kind of weight on his knee.  

 

Her attention returned to her other two boys, who were now lighting a cigarette they had found from god knows where as the walker snarled and the boy whimpered, still under the weight of the bookcase. 

 

“Please…” 

 

“Enjoy your time with hungry hungry hippos over there,” Daryl muttered to the boy as he sneered at him once more before turning towards Carol. Stopping the moment he saw the look on her face. “No.”

 

“Daryl…”

 

“You almost died because of him, twice!”

 

“Daryl…”

 

“For fucks sake!” Daryl grumbled, cigarette still between his lips as he walked back to the boy crouching down to get grab the bookcase. “You get the fucking muncher,” Daryl barked at Murphy, who glared at his brother’s tone, but followed the command anyway. 

 

“You’re just lucky my wife has a fuckin’ bleeding heart for lost cases,” Daryl grunted as he lifted the bookcase off the boy long enough for him to crawl back before dropping it to the floor with a loud BANG. 

 

“As are we all, aren’t we brother?” Connor added as he tried not to lean on Carol too much, remembering she was hurt as well. 

 

“Thank you, thank you,” the boy muttered as he tried to regain his breath. He probably was younger than Zach, but older than Carl. He was just a kid compared to all of them. And yet… he had in fact almost cost them Carol twice. 

 

“You two okay?” Daryl asked them softly, putting a hand on Connor’s shoulder as he dropped a kiss to Carol’s forehead. 

 

“We’re still here, sweetheart.” Daryl gave Carol a small smile as an answer to her reply. 

 

“I need to get out of here, we need to get out of here!” The boy started fretting, as he looked out the window. He was looking three shades paler, and that didn’t settle well with any of them. “They probably heard the shot, if they find me…”

 

Carol broke away from the three of them, approaching the boy while trying to look as unthreatening as possible. “Who is looking for you? We can help…”

 

“The people at the hospital-”

 

“Wait, wait, wait.” Daryl was suddenly grabbing the boy by the shoulder, looking him in the eye. “Just tell us, have you seen a blonde girl? A blonde-”

 

“Beth?” Daryl’s eyes met Carol’s where she was standing behind the boy, “She helped me get out of there, but she’s still there.”

 

The sound of a car coming down the street made Carol look out, seeing a station wagon with the same white cross on the back drive slowly across the street. 

 

“They’re coming, we got to go, now!” The boy began pushing Daryl towards the exit. Daryl shook him off, waiting until Carol was in front of him before turning to Connor and crouching down in front of him. 

 

“We need to move fast, so shut your hole and get up .” Connor said nothing, patting his brother’s shoulder as Daryl grunted when he righted himself. They moved to follow the boy, who had finally told Murphy his name was Noah. with Murphy and Carol bringing up the rear. 

 

“I don’t like this at all,” Connor muttered as he kept having to look back to make sure both Carol and Murphy weren’t falling behind. 

 

They went down two flights of stairs, Noah guiding them towards the exit. “The building next door has a basement, it’s clear. We’ll be safe there!” He told them as he started walking faster, limping badly just before he crashed into the ground. 

 

“Go! I’ll help him!” Murphy yelled as Daryl turned to see what had happened. He moved to Noah, putting his good arm under his and pulling him up. 

 

Carol didn’t waste valuable seconds, she moved on point, opening the door and running out towards the street. 

 

A car screeched to a halt too late. 

 

Daryl fell to his knees, unmindful of  the pain with Connor’s added weight as he saw Carol fly into the car’s windshield before dropping to the pavement like a rag doll. Noah was able to keep Murphy from running into the street, grabbing onto whatever part of the man he could. 

 

“No,” Connor whisper yelled into Daryl’s ear, his arms moving from across his chest to push Daryl forward to try and use that momentum as he tried to jump to his feet. “No!”

 

“No!” Murphy cried out, fighting to get Noah off of him, “Let me go!” 

 

Daryl couldn’t even think about what had just happened, he had barely been able to tackle Connor as he tried to leap over him, pushing him to the floor and getting on top of him. 

 

“No!” Connor cried once again, getting Daryl’s hand slapped on top of his mouth as the two officers with automatic weapons who were putting Carol on a stretcher stopped as if they had heard something.

 

“They can help her! They’re the only ones who can!” At those words Connor’s trashing became a little less while Murphy was still heaving, fighting against the boy’s hold on him. “They have medical equipment, doctors…”

 

Murphy finally pushed Noah off, dropping to his knees beside his brothers. “What are we going to do Con?” 

 

Connor tried to keep his tears at bay as he dropped his head against the cold floor. He felt as Daryl finally got off of him, but he went back as soon as he felt him tense up. His brother knew him after all. Murphy’s words broke through the fog though, his brother sounded like a lost little boy. But that’s what they were without her, weren’t they? They were completely lost. 

 

“If you go out there, you would have to kill them.”

 

“Done,” Daryl growled his hands shaking as he sat on Connor’s back, glaring as he watched the two men put Carol in the car. 

 

“But she needs medical care, and if you kill them now…” The car with Carol in it drove away. “We can rescue her, we can rescue Beth.”

 

Daryl got to his feet, helping first Murphy and - then between the two of them - Connor back to his feet.  

 

“What’s it going to take?” Connor asked, one arm around Daryl’s back, resting his weight against him, while Murphy clutched Daryl’s hand like a lifeline. 

 

“A lot, they got guns and people.”

 

“So do we,” Daryl growled as he turned and started moving his brothers back from where they had came from. “We need to get back to the church, Carol would kill us if something happens to Mika.”

 

“Were the meds in her-”

 

“I got them,” Connor said sharply. The oldest MacManus was brooding, and neither of the youngest ones could do anything about it. The truth was it hadn’t been their fault. Carol should have stopped and looked before running out; but in their minds they should have done something. They should be the ones in pain instead of her. 

 

They got lucky and found a working car not far from the building. Carefully, Daryl and Murphy got Connor to the backseat, with Daryl passing him some of the stronger pain medications they had found at the pharmacy. He hadn’t noticed, but Connor’s knee had taken yet another blow when he had fallen while carrying him. 

 

With a glare from Daryl, Noah got in the car. Leaving the two brothers standing outside. 

 

“You get them back there, and get the others as soon as possible.” Daryl said softly, head turned so there was no way Connor could hear them. “Leave Connor back in the church with the kiddies, he can barely move.”

 

“You gotto be kidding me!” Murphy exploded pushing Daryl’s chest and slamming him against the car. “You’re not fucking staying!”

 

“We can’t leave her! I’m not going to leave her!” 

 

“And you think I want to? Huh?” They were screaming at each other now, not caring about Connor hearing any of this, not caring about walkers or about people from Grady. “Do you think I’m not dying inside at the thought of her dying alone in that bloody hospital? But you can’t do this Declan! You can’t stay here and do something fucking bonkers and get yourself killed!”

 

“I can’t!” Daryl’s voice broke as he dropped his head, tears streaming down his face. “I can’t…”

 

“We have to,” Murphy said as he pulled his younger brother into a hug, both of them shaking as they cried together. “We have to stick together if we’re going to get her out.”

 

“Are you two bloody wankers ready to leave? Have you finally stopped crying, you pair of twats?” Connor yelled at them, sticking his head out the window as he glared at them. 

 

“He’s high as a fucking kite, isn’t he?” Murphy asked as he rounded the car to get in the passenger seat. 

 

“He fucking is.” Daryl took a deep breath, before he turned the car on and drove away from Atlanta. 

 

Away from Atlanta ... and away from Carol, leaving a piece of his heart behind as well.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok guys... here's the deal.... I'm burning out... I'm so proud of this chapter, but I'm so tired... wrote almost 15k in a week plus work and you know outside of the internet life... So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna take it a little bit slower from now on... I don't think there will be another chapter as hard as this one, but I'm going to push back the new chapters to every 10-14 days. This will give me a chance to also write things outside of the MacDixons without neglecting them... I hope this big chapter will tie you over, and I love you guys.


	4. Crossed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the deal peeps... I'm not gonna lie, Consumed kicked my ass. I legit ended up sick in bed cause of pushing myself so much to get it done in one week (taking into consideration my RL and work.) And I'm not going to say it didn't hurt when I didn't get any feedback, I love you guys, but it did made me feel like shite. I ended up wondering why was I even bothering with this. Got to thank my awesome beta for pushing me to continue this. I know a lot of it was my fault, taking me so long in updating between chapter 1 and chapter 2; but c'mon peeps, just let me know you're out there.

**Chapter IV**

**Crossed**

 

Daryl softly touched Mika’s forehead, wincing when it was as hot as it had been when they had come in hours ago. Michonne had explained to him how the medications would take some time, but they had brought in just what she needed and hopefully she would be alright. The little girl had even woken up enough to give them a soft kiss on the cheek and a sleepy smile, before falling asleep once again. 

 

She had asked for Carol though, and Daryl couldn’t help but feel as his chest tightened at the thought of where their wife was. They had taken over the room the rest of the family had given to Mika, closing the door and giving themselves some room to breathe. Zach laid asleep, snoring in a corner after having finally passed the care of their little girl to them. 

 

The boy had stepped up when they’d needed it the most, and Daryl hoped he knew how much they appreciated it. He promised himself once this was over, he would tell him. He would voice the fact that they were very proud of him, of how he helped Mika and how he’d helped them all. 

 

“We’re going to have a big day tomorrow, baby boy, you should be asleep.” Daryl jump startled, looking at where Connor was lying down on the floor by one of the walls, his blue eyes looking on him. 

 

“She’s still burning up, was just trying to-”

 

“Avoid dreaming about the sound her body made when it hit the ground?” 

 

Daryl couldn’t look at Connor as his brother uttered those words, feeling as tears threatened to overcome him. He still couldn’t believe he had allowed Murphy to convince him to leave Atlanta, the guilt he felt in his chest at leaving her behind was making it difficult for him to breathe, to think. His chest felt tight, and he couldn’t help rubbing on it as if it would make a difference. It wouldn’t, he knew the only thing that it would was to get her back into their arms… and he had no idea if they were going to be able to do that. 

 

“We’re going to get her back, stop worrying,” Connor chastised him softly, knowing what his youngest brother was thinking just by the look on his face. “She wouldn’t leave us like that.”

 

“You don’t know that,” Daryl hissed at him, moving from Mika’s side to start pacing up and down the small space unoccupied by Zach, Murphy, and the bloody dog. “She could be-”

 

“No!” Connor didn’t let him continue, “we’re going to get her back …  end of argument.” 

 

Daryl scoffed at his oldest brother, dropping himself beside him with his back to the wall and sighing when Connor moved to lay his head over his lap as a pillow. “She won’t be happy with you if you end up having a panic attack,” he warned.  “We’re going to get her back: by this time tomorrow she’ll be with us.”

 

Daryl sighed, dropping his head against the wall as his hand just migrated on its own to Connor’s hair. “I hope so.”

 

“I know so.”

 

.-.-.-

 

She was sure the last thing she had heard before hitting the ground was Connor screaming again. At least, it was the last thing she remembered until the steady beep of the vital signs machine woke her up. 

 

She was in an unknown room, in what appeared to be a hospital. Everything hurt, from her head to her toes, and she couldn’t help but groan when she tried to sit up and was unable to manage even the slightest movement. Carol had to close her eyes and breathe in and out a few times  before she was able to calm down both her breathing and her heart rate to be able to asses the situation properly. 

 

The last thing she remembered was the panic in Noah’s face as he insisted they had to get away from these people, and the unease at now being inside did nothing to help her already altered state. But she knew she needed to stay calm, she needed to do it if she wanted to see her family again. 

 

The door tentatively opened. Carol closed her eyes and tried to slow down her breathing, it was time to put her mask on. It was time to survive. 

 

-.-.-.

 

“Murph.”

 

“Murph.”

 

“Muffin.”

 

Murphy groaned as he felt something poke his cheek, half opening an eye to glare at Mika who was kneeling next to where he had crashed as soon as they’d gotten to the church the night before. “Go back to sleep, squirt,” he muttered rolling onto his good side to try and go back to sleep. 

 

“But, Muffin, I’m hungry…”

 

One moment he was trying to go back to sleep, the next moment it was as though his brain had finally caught up with who was speaking to him and he was up in a second. 

 

“Mika!” Murphy exclaimed, pulling the little girl into his chest and hugging her tightly. “You’re awake!”

 

“Shut the fuck up, Murphy, let people sleep!” 

 

“Decks,” Murphy said in a singsong voice as he pushed Mika to stand, before getting on his feet as well. “Look at who woke me up because they’re hungry…”

 

“If it’s that mangy shit of a dog, just throw it a bone or something,” Daryl grumbled as he tried to find a more comfortable position lying against the wall with Connor draped across his lap; eyes still closed. 

 

“And what if it’s our little girl instead of the dog?”

 

“Mika’s fucking asleep, you’ll wake her up with your loud mouth.”

 

Mika’s giggle made him finally snap awake. “Connor!” Daryl pushed his brother off his lap as he tried to get up, “Con!” he hit him on the side of the head with an open palm as he was finally able to push him off. He walked on his knees until he was next to Mika and began looking her over. 

 

“I’m hungry, Daryl.” Mika was still looking worse for wear, and when Daryl touched her forehead she was still warmer than he would like her to be. But she was conscious, she was up, and she wanted to eat. Every single one of those observations was a clear improvement over the state she’d been in the day before; it was an improvement from the state they had left her in the first place. 

 

“I can go get you the biggest, fattest squirrel you’ve ever seen if you want, sweetheart,” Daryl said softly against her hair as she threw her arm around his neck, hugging him close. 

 

“Where’s Mama Carol?” Mika asked softly as she moved back from Daryl’s embrace, her sad eyes looking at his. 

 

“She’s back in Atlanta, squirt,” Zach answered as he stood up from where he had made his own bed, and approached the two of them. “She’s a little hurt, but we’re going to go get her later...ok?” 

 

Mika sighed, closing her eyes and allowing Murphy to pull her to his side. Daryl couldn’t help but feel immense sadness at the tiredness he could see in her. Someone so young shouldn’t look that tired. 

 

A knock on the door made Connor, who was the only one still sleeping, wake up, startled. 

 

“We’re ready to hear what happened,” Rick stood in the open doorway, his eyes not meeting any of them. “We can start on what we need to do.”

 

“We need to get our shit together and get back to Atlanta,” Daryl huffed as he got on his feet as well. “After we feed Mika, of course.”

 

Mika burrowed her face against Murphy’s side, although her smile was still visible. 

 

“Daryl…”

 

“You shut up,” Connor said pointing at Rick while smiling down at Mika. “You, come and give me a hug.” Both followed his instructions. 

 

“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” Connor asked softly, only for Mika’s ears as he pulled the little girl to his side.

 

“It still hurts a little, Cookie,” her voice was still laced with pain, “and I’m hungry.” 

 

“We can actually do something for both, because you know what Mama Carol did yesterday?” Connor stretched pulling the bag where they had all the medications from their trip closer. “She got us all these things to help with the pain,” he explained as he opened a bottle, taking two pills to give Mika and then taking four for himself. 

 

“And I got you this, if you want it?” Carl said from the open doorway, shaking what it looked like a small box of fruit loops. 

 

“Yes!” The adults chuckled as Carl moved to give her the cereal box. Mika said thank you softly as she moved to snuggle with Connor on the pallet he had made for himself on the floor. 

 

“We’re going to go talk to Rick,” Daryl said as he stood next to where Connor was lying down, “keep that leg up.” 

 

“Yes, Declan, I will,” Connor said rolling his eyes, but letting Murphy help him place an extra cushion under it as he laid back down. “Come back and tell me what we’re going to do when you know.”

 

His brothers didn’t say anything, pulling Zach with them and closing the door behind them. The two of them needed some rest, and maybe they would be able to sleep … eventually. Perhaps,  when they woke this nightmare would be over. 

 

Rick was waiting for them outside of the church, the sun was barely high enough that they were not shrouded in darkness. In fact, most of what was left of their family was still asleep. Michonne and Carl were with him, and the six of them stood in awkward silence, neither knowing where to start. 

 

“Bob’s dead,” Carl declared after a few more seconds of no one saying anything, “got bit and didn’t tell anyone until the fever started.”

 

“Fuck... Sasha?” Daryl asked, running a hand through his hair and looking at his brother in worry. They had learned to care about everyone in their family, and Bob and more importantly Sasha were part of that extended family.

 

“Broken, but she got to say goodbye,” Michonne answered with a sad half smile on her face. 

 

“Zach told us about Maggie,” Murphy murmured as he put a hand on Carl’s shoulder, he had missed the kid. “Noah, the boy we brought with us from Atlanta, Beth saved him.”

 

“What’s the plan?” Rick asked softly, knowing this time around he wasn’t the one pulling the strings. This needed to be done following the boys’ plans, because if something went wrong and they lost Carol… he wasn’t sure they would ever get over that, none of them. 

 

“We need people, and guns,” Daryl answered looking at Murphy before staring back at Rick. “Connor can’t know this, but he’s staying.”

 

“But-”

 

“We know lad,” Murphy said warily as Carl had started to protest, “but he can’t walk, he would be more of a liability than he would be of help.”

 

Rick and Michonne nodded, as Murphy continued to look down at Carl. “I need you to stay too, lad.”

 

“But Murph-”

 

“We’re taking Zach with us, he’s still a better shot with a rifle than you are.” Carl made a face but didn’t dare to contradict Murphy, especially when he knew the older man was right. “We will need someone to stay and protect Mika and Con, especially since they can’t move yet.”

 

“I want to help get Carol back.” 

 

Rick opened his mouth to speak, to order his son to follow orders and stay. But Michonne shaking her head slightly made him stop, allowing someone who at the moment had better communication with his son, take on this one. 

 

“I know, and I know you would be a great asset, but-”

 

“We don’t need to worry about who’s staying behind, we need people to look after the ones here… Little Asskicker, Mika, Connor…” Daryl added, standing next to Murphy and looking at Carl the exact same way his brother was doing. “And we know you will keep them safe, because-”

 

“We always keep our family safe,” Carl finished softly, looking down at his feet repeating the words he had heard from the MacManus and Daryl more than once since they had become such an integral part of his life. 

 

Carl looked up at his dad before turning to look at Murphy and Daryl again. “Alright, but…” Carl made a face skirting his gaze over at Michonne before looking back at the brothers, “Not me! I’m not going to be the one to tell Connor he’s staying.”

 

“Not me,” Zach said quickly after. 

 

“Not me,” Michonne added, a smile threatening to appear on her face. 

 

“Not me,” both Rick and Murphy said at the same time, Murphy glaring at Rick slightly before they all turned to look at Daryl who just stood there looking baffled. 

 

“You have to be shitting me!”. 

 

-.-.-.

 

The light made her eyes, and her head, hurt so badly she closed them again. Everything came at her at once the moment she didn’t feel the weight of the people who were usually surrounding her even in sleep. She was in a hospital in Atlanta, she had been hit by a car, and she had found the little girl they had been looking for all along. 

 

When Carol blinked slowly to allow her eyes to get used to the light, she saw that she was alone in the room. A hospital room, with artificial lights and a monitor. She wasn’t sure if she had imagined it, but she was pretty sure she had seen Beth at some time since she had gotten there. 

 

What she did know for sure was that everything hurt. 

 

Her left forearm was killing her, and every breath she took made her want to cry out in pain. As she tried to sit up, the burning sensation on her right hip made her lay down immediately, her chest heaving as the room started spinning. She tried to move her toes, which at least were responding properly. 

 

She needed to get out of there, but she was alone in the room. Alone and unable to move without assistance. If she remembered anything from her previous experiences, her wrist was probably broken; and why they hadn’t put a cast on it was something she wasn’t sure of. Her head was hurting, so she probably had a concussion, and although she had probably broken a couple of ribs, there were enough intact she wasn’t going to die because of them. 

 

That’s if the people in here didn’t kill her first. 

 

“Ah.” Carol tensed up when a unknown male voice came from the now open door, “I see that my patient is up.”

 

A man in a white lab coat, who appeared to be a doctor, approached her while looking at a chart. “You were brought in by two of our officers, you were lucky they found you yesterday.”

 

Carol chose not to answer him. She had been lucky enough to be run over by them, but beggars can’t be choosers. They hadn’t killed her, and they seemed friendly enough to keep her alive… for now. 

 

“Do you know your name?” The Doctor asked as he moved to her bedside, taking out a penlight from one of his pockets. “Do you know where you are?”

 

Carol flinched back as the man made to put a hand on her face, hissing when the movement made the pain in her ribs flare up. 

 

“Easy there,” the doctor said calmly as he slowly made to shine the light on her eyes. “You have a couple of fractured ribs, I’m just checking to see if you have a concussion… it took you an awfully long time to wake up.”

 

She only looked at them in pretend confusion. They hadn’t heard her speak, and if she didn’t, she might get away with more. Daryl had always said she was good at thinking on her feet. 

 

“Can you hear me?”

 

Carol didn’t answer. 

 

“Do you know your name?”

 

No answer. 

 

“Dawn is not going to like this.” Carol pretended to not understand or hear anything of what the doctor said to her as he looked her over. Then, without saying what it was, he injected her I.V with something. Something which made her very sleepy, but at the same time made her pain go away. 

 

Her eyes started to close without her wanting to. She wanted to try and find a way out, she wanted to try and see if she could stand up on her own once the man left. She wanted to find a way to escape and get back to her family. But if she was being honest, sleep seemed like a pretty good idea at the same time. 

 

The last thing she saw before she succumbed to sleep was as the man in the white coat left her room, looking sadly at her through the small window in the door. 

 

-.-.-.-

 

“Are you going to take the cross too?” Gabriel asked a silent Daryl as he watched as Sasha kept on breaking down pews, and the brothers used the tubes of the organ as pikes to cover the entrance. 

 

“If we need to, father,” Murphy answered in his brother’s stead, knowing Daryl was starting to reach his boiling point with everyone in there. They were both worried to death, already having gotten into a screaming match with each other in the middle of the woods when Daryl tried to get Murphy to stay back with Connor as well. “I doubt Jesus Christ will find a fault in us protecting our weak and innocent, or do you?”

 

Murphy had seen the cravings at the back of the church, he had done the sign of the cross on himself and continued on his way. Everyone carried their demons within, but he really hoped Connor didn’t find out about Gabriel’s any time soon. It wasn’t like he wasn’t disgusted by what it seemed Gabriel had done, but he didn’t have the time to berate the other man. 

 

And also, who was he to judge? He had killed people, bad people, but still people. They weren’t free of sin. He had even gotten people who trusted him killed, the death of Rocco still a weight which would always be a burden on their souls. If they hadn’t been as cocky, if they hadn’t allowed Rocco who they knew wasn’t prepared for their shit to follow them… their friend might have lived to meet their family. He might have lived to meet Daryl and Carol. 

 

“No, of course not,” Gabriel said nervously as he quickly scurried away back inside the church. 

 

“That asshole gives me the creeps,” Daryl muttered, before grunting as he sank another pipe into the ground. “Are you sure you don’t want to-”

 

“Shut up, Declan!” Murphy growled, grabbing his brother by the lapels of his vest and hissing at his face. “I’m not letting you go do something stupid on your own, all right?!” He was scolding him, but he couldn’t help but pull Daryl’s head down and drop a hard kiss on his forehead. 

 

They were going to do it together. 

 

“It’s time,” Rick said as he marched up to them, Michonne and Carl at his back. “Michonne is staying back as well.” Daryl squinted as he looked at Rick, there was something there just beneath the surface and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what it was. But there was a certain degree of submission from the former sheriff he wasn’t sure he completely understood. 

 

“Get everyone else ready, we’ll be right back,” Daryl said as he patted Rick on the shoulder, squaring his own before he marched back inside the church with Murphy at his side. 

 

This was definitely not going to be an easy talk with their older brother.

 

“Stop stomping around, she’s asleep!” Connor hissed at them as soon as they stepped through the door. Both brothers looked sheepishly at their third, at where he was sitting on the floor with his leg up over a pile of books with a pillow between them and his knee. “Her fever is up again, but it’s not as bad as they said it was before.”

 

“That’s good,” Daryl murmured as he moved towards where most of their things were, trying to pretend he wasn’t clearly packing his bag. “Kid needs rest.”

 

“Yeah,” Murphy said as he crouched beside Connor, glaring at Daryl’s back when he didn’t try to approach the subject. “Conn-”

 

“Just go, Murph.” Murphy felt as something got stuck at the back of his throat at Connor’s tired tone. “I know you have to go and get her back, just go and do so.”

 

“Con,” Murphy said softly, reaching a hand to touch Connor’s shoulder. 

 

“Don’t,” Connor said before he made contact. “I don’t want our last words before you guys leave me here to be in anger, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to if you say something else.”

 

“Con,” Murphy repeated, feeling as tears begin to burn in his eyes.The sound of Daryl dropping on his knees at Connor’s other side made the two of them look at him. 

 

“We’re going to get our wife back, Con,” Daryl whispered grasping Connor’s hand and looking up to his eyes as he felt Murphy put his hand over theirs. “We’re going to get our wife back, and we’re going to be together again, all of us.”

 

“Please come back to me?,” Connor pleaded softly to his brothers, moving so the three of them were able to press their foreheads together. “Don’t go where I can’t follow.”

 

“Never,” Murphy whispered, his voice breaking. “Never without you, Con.”

The three stayed like that for a few moments, knowing that no one knew what came next. “Mary, Queen among queens, please protect these two assholes who are going to bring the light in our darkness back to us,” Connor stopped talking, taking a breath before continuing. “Please guide them, keep them from doing some of the crazy shit they get up to, and please you who are the mother among mothers, please help them bring back the woman who keeps this family together.”

 

“Amen,” Murphy said, a smirk on his face.

 

“Amen,” Daryl followed before he moved to kiss Connor’s forehead. “We’ll bring her back, brother.”

 

“You better, you jackass.”

 

-.-.-

 

Mika was still asleep when Michonne came in to drop Judith off with him. As if sensing his anxiety the baby immediately started to fuss. Connor had to do as best as he could to try and calm himself down if he didn’t want a breakdown to happen from their littlest family member. 

 

“Calm down, Asskicker,” Connor whispered as he started bouncing the baby in his arms. Carl and Michonne went to work nailing the entrance shut. “You’re going to be just fine, alright?”

 

The baby started to pout as Connor soothed her down from a full crying meltdown. “Your Papa went to help Uncle Decks and Uncle Murphy get your Aunty Carol back, he’s going to be back in a jiffy.”

 

“In a jiffy?” Connor looked up when he heard Carl’s chuckle as he rested his shoulder against the door frame, the sound of hammering long gone by then. “You’re really an old fart.”

 

Connor pushed him playfully as the boy went to sit down next to him, pulling Judith into his arms. The girl went gleefully, starting to babble and trying to grab at her big brother’s hat. Connor just smiled as he watched them, his eyes moving to Mika’s peaceful rest before coming back to the Grimes siblings. 

 

“Just remember what you told me,” Carl said softly, dropping a kiss on Judith’s forehead as the baby settled into his chest. “You would know if something happened to her, you would know.”

 

“Right,” Connor sighed, resting his head against the wall. “I would.”

 

“She’s your wife after all,” Carl said mockingly hiding a smile against Judith’s hair. 

 

“Officially and everything now, lad.”

 

“No way!” 

 

“Yes, sir!”

 

“What has the two of you so excited now?” Michonne asked, a soft smile on her face as she moved to sit across from them on the floor, her eyes flickering to the entrance where father Gabriel was nervously lingering. 

 

“Carol is Connor’s wife!”

 

“But hadn’t he already called her that before?” 

 

“He’s saying it’s official now.”

 

Connor tried to hide the slight blush on his cheeks as Michonne’s smile grew as she turned to look at him. “Really? But-”

 

“As official as we can make it, as it can be nowadays,” Connor interrupted, eyes moving quickly to where the still strange man was standing. 

 

“I’m happy for you.” Connor returned the smile. There was true joy in Michonne’s eyes when he looked at her, and he was thankful for the people that had become their extended family. Well, for most of them. 

 

“I’m happy for us too.” Connor yelped when Michonne threw the first thing she had at hand at him, Daryl’s dirty clothes. 

 

Mika woke up, hearing laughter around her, a small smile on her face. 

 

-.-.

 

Silence. Nobody had said anything since they had left the church, and the injured behind. It had only been because of a glare from Daryl, that Murphy retained his copilot seat. The car they had used to get away from Atlanta was now on it’s way back with their reinforcements. If they could even be called that. 

 

With Daryl behind the wheel, the brothers - together with Zach, Rick, Tyreese, Sasha, and Noah- were on their way back to the town they had left barely twelve hours before. Twelve hours since they had seen a car strike their wife down, twelve hours since their hearts had stopped being complete. 

 

No one said a word. Daryl and Murphy shared silent looks every now and then, but no one felt comfortable enough to start talking. Their weapons were loaded, and although it was less people than they expected to bring as backup, it would have to be enough. 

 

They needed it to be enough. 

 

-.-.-.

 

Carol wasn’t really sure what was truth and what wasn’t anymore. Her eyes felt heavy every time she tried to open them, and she just felt the need to go back to sleep as soon as she did. She was sure there had been a couple of times where there had been someone else in the room with her, but she never said anything to anyone. 

 

She needed to get back to her boys. The problem was the doctor was keeping her sedated, because he didn’t want her to be in pain or because she pretended to not understand anything he was saying was something she didn’t know. 

 

And she hadn’t found Beth either. The only other person she had seen so far, was a woman dressed as a police officer who seemed to be to whom the doctor responded to. 

 

There were no clocks and no windows so she was lost when it came to know how long it had been. She could only count the time in dosages given and that was not reliable either. 

 

She needed her boys to hurry up and get her, there was nothing else she needed but them. 

 

-.-.-

 

The wind on his hair made Murphy close his eyes and breathe. The quiet steps of his brother the only other sound as he stood up on that rooftop, overlooking what was left of Atlanta. 

 

“It was a good twenty blocks that way,” Daryl said passing the cigarette he had lit to Murphy who took it without a word as he pointed forward with his other hand. “The rooftop where Rick left Merle like a century ago.”

 

“And it was only what? A year at the most?”

 

“Yeah,” Daryl answered, taking the cigarette back and taking a long drag. “That day changed everything,” he muttered with the smoke wisping between his lips. “I felt so alone that day.”

 

Murphy didn’t know what words would bring his brother any comfort, so he did the only thing he could. He put his one good arm around his back, side hugging him close. 

 

“Carol was the first person  _ ever who  _ made me feel wanted, who made me feel like I was worth something, I can’t-”

 

“We won’t,” Murphy interrupted as he felt Daryl sag against him, his voice starting to break. “We’re going to get her back, we’re going to get back to Mika and Connor and we’ll get to freak that weird priest guy by calling her our wife.”

 

Daryl chuckled, moving to press his face against Murphy’s shoulder. “We can’t lose her, Murph.”

 

“And we won’t.”

 

Daryl sighed, righting himself once again, but not moving away from the closeness that was to have his brother’s arm around him. His eyes were lost on the horizon as he tried to get rid of the ghosts of the past. How could he have changed to much in a little over a year? He was almost someone completely different to that Daryl who had cried and yelled at the heavens for having been left alone, once more. Because he had been crying out like a little lost boy to a brother who had never known how to love him, he was crying for a family that he didn’t realize until later he had never had. 

 

And now he had his identical brother with him, passing a cigarette back and forth as the unforgiving sun shone upon them. Their peace was short lived, as they both turn towards the door which led to the stairs as it banged open. 

 

“Guys, Rick has a plan,” Zach said, and just by his face the boys knew they were not going to like it. They had left the planning to Rick, since the brains in their triad had been left behind - not that they would ever allow Connor to know that- hoping that Rick’s knowledge of raids and hostage situations could come in handy. 

 

Murphy wasn’t entirely sure about the deputy’s priorities after all. He had lied to them, he had lied to Connor multiple times while the four of them had been stranded together. He had almost cost them Carol once, he would never get a second chance at that. 

 

Daryl nodded, taking the last drag of the cigarette before he snuffed it out, pushing Murphy in front of him while keeping his hands on his shoulders. He patted Murphy’s good shoulder, minding his brother’s injuries as they made their way downstairs towards where the rest of their group was. He had never been a physical affection type of person until his brothers and Carol; Merle had barely gotten forced hugs out of him as a kid. Now he was the one initiating the contact, needing it to feel as calm as he tried to make others think he was. 

 

That’s what family had done for him. 

 

Rick nodded at them as he crouched in front of what seemed to be a rudimentary map of Grady. They stood in a circle around him as he started to explain his brilliant plan. 

 

“At sundown we fire a shot into the air. Get two of them out on patrol.” He made a pause to look up at them. “Then once it's dark enough that the rooftop spotter won't see us, we go.” He pointed at an area on the map. “We cut the locks on one of the stairways, take it to the fifth floor. I open the door, Daryl takes the guard out.” Daryl nodded, looking at Murphy who nodded back. 

 

“How?” Tyreese asked nervously, looking at Rick and then looking at Daryl. 

 

“He slits his throat.” 

 

“No,” Murphy stated. 

 

“This is all about us doing this quiet, keeping the upper hand. They're not expecting us,” Rick said, exasperated already as he stood up, looking at Murphy in the eyes. 

 

“We’re not going in there, killing everyone in our path, friend or foe,” Murphy spitted out getting closer to Rick’s face. “We’re not like that.”

 

“They took Beth, they have Carol!” Rick started to raise his voice, and Daryl didn’t take long to move to his brother’s side. 

 

“Noah told us not everyone in there is bad, some people are just doing what we’re doing,” Daryl said softly looking at Tyreese, Sasha and the boys, “they’re trying to survive, us going in guns ablazing, that ain’t us.”

 

“If we get rid of these people, we’ll have the upper hand easily.” Rick pinched the bridge of his nose as he looked at his blue prints. 

 

“The wards will help, if we get rid of all the guards…” Noah added softly, looking warily at Murphy and Daryl who were sporting identical faces of anger. 

 

“We ended up thirteen on three, I get rid of Dawn,” Rick finished, nodding at the boy in approval. 

 

“That’s the best case scenario,” Tyreese murmured, sharing a look with Murphy making him calm down a little. “Worse case scenario? One of those cops is at the wrong place at the wrong time, we get caught? There will be a lot of bullets flying around.”

 

Sasha sighed. “If that’s what it takes.”

 

“No,” Murphy said, “we would risk all the innocents if that were to happen, people like Beth and Carol, could be caught in the crossfire.” Murphy’s eyes met Rick’s. “We’re not willing to do that.”

 

“If we could get a couple of her officers though,” Tyreese said eyes vacant as he looked to the floor, “alive out here, we could do an even trade… theirs for ours and everybody goes home in peace.”

 

“Guardian of the fucking peace, Ty,” Murphy muttered earning a smile from the bigger man. 

 

“That might work,” Rick said, starting to pace, “but what I’m proposing, I’m sure it will.”

 

“Sure! Just like all of your other plans have worked out so well for our family,” all heads snapped to look at Zach who was leaning against the window, keeping an eye out. “We should of course do what you tell us to do, no arguing in that.”

 

Rick sighed, rubbing his face with his hand. “I’m sorry.” Everyone stopped what they were doing putting their attention on their so called leader, “I’m sorry for what happened at the prison, I’m sorry for what I did after… I was just trying to look after my family.”

 

“And we’re just trying to look after ours, Buck,” Murphy said as he walked past Rick, patting his chest as he whistled Zach over to follow him. 

 

Daryl just shrugged and followed his brother and kid. “We’re doing what Ty says,” he called back not looking back as he heard the shuffling feet of people following them. 

 

Rick watched as he was left behind, on his own. 

 

-.-.-

 

“Why don’t you like him?” Carl asked Connor softly as he sat beside him while they watched Gabriel fretting around. “He hasn’t done anything to us.”

 

Connor chuckled, grunting as he had to lift his hips to get the cigarette pack he had stolen from Murphy from his front pocket. “There’s the key words, lad,  _ to us _ …”

 

“So you’re punishing him for something you think he did?”

 

“Not punishing, no,” Connor said with the cigarette between his lips as he lit it. “He just doesn’t have my trust yet, laddie.”

 

“He needs to be trained,” Carl said as they watched Gabriel jump startle as Judith threw the plastic cup she was playing with against the wall. “He’s not going to make it if we don’t.”

 

“He doesn’t get it.” Connor shook his head, putting an arm around Carl’s shoulders and getting closer so he would be the only one to hear his words. “And even worse, he doesn’t want to get it.”

 

“We have to try and do something.” Connor smiled, feeling some elation in his chest at how good Carl was as a person. This boy who had gone through so much, still had such a good heart. And he knew pride was a capital sin, but he couldn’t help but be a little proud knowing he had helped to keep him that way. “We can’t let him just die!”

 

“Then do something,” Connor said smiling as he pushed himself off the bench and started wobbling back to their room. “Let me know how it goes .”

 

“Asshole!” Carl yelled after him, a grin on his face. 

 

Connor just flipped him off over his shoulder.

 

-.-.-

 

Carol’s mind felt slow as she blinked, trying to open her eyes against the harsh artificial light in her room. Everything felt hazy.  She blinked several times as she looked down at her hands seeing one of them in a cast. 

 

Her head snapped up towards the door when she heard it open, and blinked owlishly at the pair walking in, the doctor and the officer women she was sure she had seen before. 

 

“It’s good to see you’re awake,” the woman - Dawn - said as she gave Carol a fake bright smile, “Doctor here tells me you can’t talk?”

 

Carol only blinked, opening her mouth but remembering at the last moment she wasn’t supposed to talk. They weren’t supposed to know. 

 

“Ahhhh,” Carol said opening her mouth, vocalizing some more, but not really saying anything. She could see how the woman tightened her jaw, glaring at the doctor as she moved closer to her. 

 

“Do you know your name?”

 

“Ahhhh,” Carol said again, opening her mouth and signaling, or trying to as her hands flopped around. One of them even hitting Dawn on the side of her arm. 

 

“Do you know where you are?”

 

“I don’t have a way of knowing if it’s because of the medications, or if she has some type of brain injury.” Carol tried to focus both her eyes and attention on the doctor as Dawn turned her back on her to pay attention to the man. “Without a CT scan, it’s hard to say…”

 

“Take her off the medications.” Carol pretended to flop down to sleep as Dawn turned, lying bonelessly there. “We’re not wasting resources on her.”

 

“It could have been a direct result of your officers running her over,” the doctor added softly, trying to convince Dawn.

 

“No more wasting medications on her, and that’s an order.”

 

Carol listened as Dawn left the room, slamming the door behind her. She didn’t dare to open her eyes, but although she knew she was going to be in hellish pain, she was glad there were not going to be any more meds. That meant her mind would be clear in an hour at the most. She could start planning her escape with Beth, and they could potentially be on their way to their family before nightfall. 

 

“It would be a waste if I don’t use this already…” Carol’s eyes snapped open as she heard the doctor mutter to himself. She could feel as the medication the doctor was injecting to her direct I.V line started taking effect almost immediately, feeling as her eyes started to close. 

 

“Fuck…” she muttered softly under her breath as her eyes closed fully and sleep reclaimed the matriarch of the Dixon-MacManus family. 

 

-.-.-

 

“So what are you going to tell Zach?” Murphy asked Daryl as he leaned against the small wall where his brother was setting up the sniper rifle Murphy was going to be using when they tried to get the people of Grady.

 

“‘Bout what?” Daryl grunted, kneeling and looking through the scope, moving back and looking at his brother when he didn’t answer. “What is there to say?”

 

“For what it seems, Beth found a replacement rather fast.” 

 

Daryl snorted, shaking his head before getting on his feet. “Don’t know, don’t care.”

 

“Liar,” Murphy said quickly, a teasing smile on his face. “You care about the kid.”

 

“Pfffff,” Daryl scoffed as he rolled his eyes, pulling one cigarette from the pack he had in the breast pocket of his vest and taking a long drag. “They were fucking.”

 

Murphy choked on the smoke, glaring at Daryl when he started to snicker. “Rude.”

 

“He cares for her, but I don’t think if it wasn’t-”

 

“Because of this, it wouldn’t be a thing?”

 

“Yeah,” Daryl nodded, looking down at where he could see Rick talking to Noah. They both stared as Zach looked up quickly at them, as if making sure they were still there, before turning his attention back to the matter at hand. “Fucking teenagers.”

 

“Our boy is too good for her, anyway,” Murphy said as he passed the cigarette back to his brother. “He deserves better, too whiny.”

 

Daryl snorted, shaking his head as he took a final drag before tossing away the butt. He gave Murphy a nod, before turning on his heels and starting to walk towards the staircase. 

 

“I’ll see you around, asshole?” 

 

“You better, jerkface.” 

 

-.-.-.

 

Mika’s fever had finally broken. 

 

It had been a little over twelve hours since she had gotten her first antibiotic dosage, intramuscular much to the kid’s joy, but it seemed it had finally started to work. Michonne had advised him not to worry if the fever indeed came back, since antibiotics were medicine not magic. But the fact that she wasn’t running a fever for the first time since the day before last, it was almost a reason to celebrate. 

 

Connor had grinned when he saw her smile at him, as the dog jumped onto the couch next to her the minute he realized she was awake. “Snake!” Mika said giggling as the mutt licked the side of her face before moving to flop on his belly, putting his head over her lap whining for attention. “Who’s a good boy?”

 

He could hear Carl as he spoke with Gabriel, trying to convince the priest to take a stand with them, to - in a way - join their family. Connor shook his head as he heard the boy’s explanation, hurting at how bitter, but yet, realistic for this world it was. 

 

He wished there was a way to get their kids, because for him they were theirs, to have a normal childhood just like all of them had gotten to have. But it was just not meant to be, and as he watched Mika cuddle the mangy mutt who had helped save Judith, he promised himself he would die before he allowed her to lose that innocence. One he had been too late to save for Carl, but it wasn’t too late yet for Mika. Or at least not completely. 

 

“Well, that’s definitely not going well,” Michonne muttered as she moved to sit beside Connor, letting Judith push herself towards the Irishman so she could cuddle on his chest. 

 

Connor snorted, nuzzling the side of Judith’s hair, breathing her in. They all made sacrifices, but if there was one thing none of them allowed, it was for their little girls to suffer. And it showed when it came to Judith, the baby always smelling clean while the rest of them sometimes smelled so bad they kept themselves from being able to sleep. 

 

“If you’re not strong enough, people die.” They both shared a look, listening as Carl spoke to Gabriel. “If not for yourself, then for the rest of us, you have to learn to protect yourself.”

 

“God will protect me.” Connor rolled his eyes, hitting his head against the wooden board behind him multiple times in frustration at hearing those words. “He has done so until now, he will continue doing so.”

 

“Will he?” Connor frowned as he heard the challenge in Carl’s voice, passing Judith to Michonne once again as he started trying to stand up. “Are you so sure he will after what you’ve done?”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Gabriel looked up as he heard shuffling coming from behind were Carl was standing, paling as he saw Connor appear in the doorway. 

 

“You will burn in hell,” Carl sneered, looking over his shoulder quickly as he noticed Connor standing there, before returning his attention to Gabriel. “That’s what’s craved out there. What did you do, Gabriel?”

 

“Nothing,” Gabriel said as he shifted his eyes from the boy standing in front of him, to the man standing a few feet behind him. “I haven’t done anything.”

 

“Liar!” Carl yelled, glaring at him. “What did you do, Gabriel?”

 

Connor could feel anger begin to cloud his mind as every piece fell into place. Why he was alone? Why he had all that food he had eaten by himself? Why the one place most people would go to when the end of days came upon them had been left alone?

 

“He locked them out, lad,” Connor stated as he limped towards Carl, accepting the boy’s help as he reached out for him. “He was a coward asshole who took the easy road,” Connor’s voice was deadly calm, and Michonne who had left Judith nestled in Connor’s pallet moved closer in case it was needed. “He locked himself in here, instead of opening his doors to his flock.”

 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gabriel muttered, his dark troubled eyes darting everywhere but to the people in front of him. “Nothing.”

 

“So you’re adding lying to your list of mortal sins, father?” Connor took a small step closer to Gabriel, leaving Carl’s side. “You’re tallying up quite high.”

 

“You’re out of order,” Gabriel said nervously, watching as Connor limped closer and closer. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“What did you tell them?” Connor’s accent got incredibly thick, and Michonne relaxed as he saw him calmly approach the nervous priest. “Did you tell them it was their punishment for sinning? Or did you just close the doors in their faces and wait for them to leave you alone?”

 

“No.”

 

“Did you refuse them comfort when they needed it the most? Did you refuse them food when they were hungry?” Gabriel took a step back with every small step Connor was able to limp closer. 

 

“My sins are mine to keep.” 

 

“You are one of the worst kinds of filth in this world, hide behind your facade, hide behind your tunic.” Gabriel swallowed as Connor spat the word in his face. “But know that the day will come, when you won’t be able to hide anymore… and I will be there to remind you of this.”

 

Connor sneered starting to turn to go back to their room. His hands were shaking with barely controlled raged, his nails biting into his palms as he tried to keep it together. 

 

“I’m sorry, son,” Gabriel chuckled. “But I answer to a higher power, not to you.”

 

Michonne took a step forward, but that was all it took for Connor to turn around and slam his fist into Gabriel’s face. The momentum of the punch made Connor put weight on his bad leg, sending him crashing into the ground as he cursed to the four winds. 

 

Carl didn’t even looked at Gabriel as he stepped over him to help Connor up, getting him on his feet with Michonne’s help and steering  him back to the other room. 

 

The knives Carl was trying to teach Gabriel to use lay forgotten on the floor as they left the man on his own. 

 

“You just couldn’t let it be, could you?” Michonne huffed, trying to lighten up the mood as they helped Connor sit down again. “It always has to be a show for you.”

 

“You know me, lass.” Connor smiled, trying to pretend and failing that his knee wasn’t killing him again. “I’m all about pleasing you.”

 

“I’m not so easy to please, Lucky Charms,” Michonne bantered back, passing him two pills and a water bottle which Connor gratefully accepted. “You should already know that.”

 

“Easy, lass, you’re flirting with a married man now,” Connor chuckled as he winked at Mika over Michonne’s shoulder. “And my wife is a fucking force of nature.”

 

“She needs to be to handle you three.”

 

.-.-.-.-

 

Murphy felt as if his heart was going to burst out of his chest, the beat resounding in his ears as he followed Noah through the scope. They had gone through it several times, he would shoot in the air, wait for the officers to chase him and lead them right into their trap. 

 

His couldn’t help but fidget in his place as he first saw the boy disappear into the small alley, just before the shots echoed loudly. Murphy prepared himself to take the shot if needed, although he knew he should have been down there next to his brother, not up on a rooftop like he was. Daryl had scoffed at the idea, hitting him behind the head. He had taken off the sling, but it had been less than a week since that bullet had lodged itself in his collarbone. His arm was still basically useless. 

 

He cocked the gun as he watched the car hit Noah, making him stumble. He was especially careful to not allow the boy and the officers out of his sights. He was not as good of a shot as Connor, but he was acceptable. He could take a shot comfortably if they weren’t too close together, he could hit a target if they weren’t one over the other.  

 

Murphy was too far to hear them, but it was clear Daryl had given the sign since they all started moving in as a unit. Disarming the officers, as well as zip tying their hands behind their back. They were clear, Murphy finally moved back from his position crouched over the rifle and took a deep breath. 

 

This part of their plan was done. And as he watched them talk from the rooftop Murphy couldn’t help but think that once they got Carol back, he would need to convince her to cut Daryl’s hair cause he did look somewhat like a hairy rat.

 

He was shouldering his rifle when the screeching sound of tires made him drop down and try to set up quickly again. “Motherfucker!” Murphy yelled when a sharp pain shot up his arm as he forced it up, shooting at the car at the same time his brother opened fire as it drove towards them. 

 

The sniper rifle had been a good idea, if they planned on him having to only shoot once or twice. But having to recharge on his own, with one bad arm was not something they had been counting on. 

 

Murphy continued to try and reload as he watched the cops get in, and the car drive away. As soon as he was done, without stopping to take a breath he ran, crossing the rooftop, knowing they would have to make a u-turn at the end of the building. There had been a reason why they had chosen that exact location for the trap. 

 

Murphy dropped to his knees, looking through the scope quickly before shooting. One, two, three shots found their target on the hood of the car, causing it to start smoking and finally stop. 

 

“Who's fucking idea was it to make this fucking rifle only hold three fucking bullets,” Murphy muttered angrily to himself as he reloaded again. He cursed once more when he saw the officers get out and start running.   

 

He whistled to his brother as soon as he saw Daryl and their group get to the car, motioning to them towards the direction he had seen the officers run. Daryl signaled back, passing on the information to the rest of the group as they started to follow. 

 

All except Daryl. 

 

“For fucks sake, what are you doing?!” Murphy grumbled as he tried to keep an eye on both groups from his position, shooting at the ground were the two zip tied officers were about to run through making them stumble. A second shot was needed to keep them in place when they tried to continue, making them stall long enough for Rick to finally catch up with them. 

 

When he turned back to where they had left Daryl, he felt his blood freeze in his veins. He was fighting the third officer, the man had his brother against the ground straddling him. A walker was crawling towards Daryl, it’s melted face gnashing its teeth as it tried to take a bite out of him. 

 

Murphy didn’t think twice, he saw both men flinch as his shot hit the walker just beside them. The surprise allowed Daryl to get his bearings for a moment, before the two men were back to scuffling on the asphalt. 

 

“Don’t do this to me,” Murphy muttered as his hands shook while he tried to pull his last two bullets from the pocket he had stored them in. “Don’t fucking do this to-” 

 

He stopped mid sentence as the two bullets slipped from his grasp falling over the building ledge. 

 

He didn’t even think, he threw the rifle down and took off towards the stairs. The stairs he had last seen his brother walk down. He ran as fast as he had ever been able to, jumping steps whenever possible. It felt like an eternity before he finally threw the outside door open, not caring about the pain in his shoulder as he slammed both hands on it, running hell bent  towards where he had seen Daryl and the man fighting. 

 

He just hoped he wasn’t too late.

 

Murphy was already pulling out his gun when he saw the man choking Daryl on the ground, his brother’s arms and legs flailing as he tried and was unable to buck the heavier man off him. He didn’t even notice Rick was running from the other side of where he was coming. 

 

All he saw was a man trying to kill his brother. He just saw red. 

 

Murphy stopped three feet from them and pulled the trigger. 

 

The man slumped to the side, just as Daryl took a gasping breath his hands going to his throat. 

 

Murphy dropped to his knees beside Daryl and pulled him into his arms. 

 

Rick could only watch as the brothers embraced, the body of their extra leverage pooling blood beside them. 

 

Rick shook his head at Sasha, motioning for them to take the group away from where the brothers were to try and avoid them looking at their fallen friend.

 

“We need to get back to the others,” Rick said firmly, trying and failing to avoid an awkward moment as he intruded into something that was clearly private. “We have to-”

 

“Yeah,” Daryl said softly, his voice hoarser than usual, “just give us a minute.” Rick nodded, watching as Daryl got to his feet, pulling Murphy up seconds later. There was something in their relationship he didn’t understand, or maybe it was something he didn’t want to understand. As with things he couldn’t control, he wasn’t comfortable with it.  

Daryl patted the dead man’s body quickly, pocketing whatever of value for their survival he could find, before he put an arm around Murphy’s back and moved towards Rick. 

 

“Why the fuck did you end up leaving your sniper post?” Rick heard Daryl grumble to his brother as they walked back. 

 

“Because your ugly mug was getting pounded by Mr. Clean there.”

 

“Why the fuck you didn’t shoot him from up there?”

 

“Ran out of  bullets,” Murphy admitted, ducking his head sheepishly.

 

“You gotta be fucking kidding me?!”

 

-.-.-

 

Carol had absolutely no idea of how long it had been since she had last opened her eyes. There was no more beeping, no more equipment around her. She groaned as she tried to move a little, noticing that it had been in fact the pain that had woken her up. 

 

The doctor had followed the officer’s instruction, she was getting over the effects of the medications she had been on and everything was starting to hurt. But the thing was, Carol was no stranger to pain. Not the physical kind nor the emotional one as well. Pain she could deal with, loss, on the other hand, she wasn’t sure she would be able to withstand. 

 

She needed to know what had happened to Mika, what had happened to her boys. Were they alright? Had they been caught by the same people? Had they gotten the meds to Mika on time? She knew, as she hissed when she felt her ribs throb, it was only going to be a matter of time before her beautiful men came for her. She only needed to stay put and stall. She just needed to survive until they got their asses there and brought hell down upon them. 

 

Carol knew it because she would do it for them. She  _ had  _ done it for them. 

 

She half closed her eyes, as she saw the door open slightly. A small smile appeared on her face as she saw the blonde head peeking in. Beth returned the smile, pocketing the syringe she was carrying as she rushed to her side. 

 

There was at least one little girl she had been able to find alive. 

 

-.-.-.

 

“I’m telling you, you’re going to get us killed!” Daryl raised his eyebrows in surprise at the declaration as they - him, Murphy and Rick - caught up with the rest of their group only to hear the female officer yell at Sasha. “We need to know your plan, maybe we can help.”

 

“Sure thing, lass, we’ll just go all scooby doo and tell you all of our plans,” Murphy sarcastically said patting Zach on the back as they stood next to him, looking at the two officers they had caught for their trade. “Makes complete sense.”

 

“She will not make a trade for us,” the woman continued looking from Sasha to Rick not minding Murphy. “I heard what they were saying.” She motioned with her chin towards Tyreese and Noah, who looked away when Daryl and Murphy glared at them. 

 

“It would work if you had different officers,” the woman sighed, “Noah knows this, don’t you.”

 

“I don’t,” Noah said nervously as he looked at Daryl and Murphy, “what Shepard says it’s not true.”

 

“You know we’re two of the good ones,” Shepard continued to try and convince them, “you know Dawn is running Grady to the ground.” She changed her focus from Noah to Rick. “Bunch of us want her out and she knows this. She knows we want to put Lamson in her place.”

 

“She knows you’re part of that?” Daryl asked, eyes squinting as he took a step closer to their two prisoners. “You sure?”

 

“She doesn’t, not for sure,” the other officer -Lamson, Noah had said he was called- answered instead. “It might work, if you know how to talk to her.”

 

Shepard scoffed, looking at Lamson like he had betrayed her. “Do you want to get us all killed? She will first put a bullet into our heads rather than allow them into our midst.”

 

“We only want to get our people out, nothing more, nothing less,” Sasha said.

 

“And I’m telling you, I’ve known her for eight years,” Lamson said. “It will work, I’m just asking for peaceful resolution, no more deaths; and to sleep in my bed tonight.”

 

“That son of a bitch was about to kill my brother, you tool,” Murphy sneered at Lamson, moving closer to Daryl. “He was lucky to only get a bullet to the head.”

 

Rick sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

 

“We’re protective of our family,” Daryl said matter-of-factly to Shepherd and Lamson, putting an arm around his brother’s back. “And your commanding officer has our wife inside that hospital…”

 

“Fuck.”

 

Rick sighed. “That’s basically the general idea when these four are involved.”

 

-.-.-.-.

 

“He’s shifty as fuck,” Michonne said softly to Connor as she sat beside him after having gone to see how Gabriel was doing. It had been at least an hour since Connor had clocked the priest, and it had been too silent. Barely any noise had been coming from the man’s room, and the last thing they needed was for him to have done something drastic. 

 

Something that could mean a walker was loose inside their safe place, inside the place where they were trying to keep their kids safe. 

 

“He fucking deserved it, lass,” Connor grumbled in between spoonfuls of canned ravioli. “I don’t know how can we take him with us when we leave.”

 

“We can’t leave him behind, Connor.” Connor made a face, not meeting Michonne’s eyes as he continued to eat. “It would be the same as if we were killing him.”

 

“Better him than us, lass.”

 

“I can’t believe I’m hearing you say that,” Michonne scoffed, slapping his hand as he made to try and take another can. “You who read that thing as if it was your lifeline.” Connor scoffed as Michonne pointed at the Bible he had by his side. 

 

“Do you comprehend what he did?” Connor’s voice was cold as ice, his hands shaking with ire as he tried to calm himself down. 

 

“He made a mistake, aren’t you a believer of ‘Let the sinless man among you be the first to throw a stone’?”

 

“I am,” Connor answered. He then pointed at where Carl was curled up with Mika and Judith taking a nap. “But I’m not willing to put them in danger for someone we don’t know. I’m a parent now, I won’t let him hurt my kids in anyway.”

 

“He’s lost. He needs help.”

 

Connor sighed, looking up at the cross on the wall across from them. “I can’t promise anything. The moment that he puts any of my kids in danger I’m through with him.”

 

“So am I,” Michonne smiled at the Irishman, moving to grab one of the cans. “Now do you want the last ravioli or chicken noodles?”

 

-.-.-.

 

Zach glared at Rick, who was sitting on a crate as he interrogated Lamson. “You’re going to drill holes into his skull if you continue glaring that hard,” Murphy said, chuckling as Zach turned the glare on him. “Easy there, Superman.” 

 

“I don’t trust him,” Zach muttered, sighing as he moved to stand between Daryl and Murphy. “Not after what he did to-”

 

“You will shut up and follow instructions,” Daryl snapped, taking Zach by his shirt and shaking him lightly. “You will not put yourself in trouble because you don’t trust him, he may be an asshole but he got most of us here.”

 

Zach nodded, looking nervously at Murphy who didn’t say anything and then back at Daryl, nodding once more. “I’m gonna go see Noah,” Zach grumbled before quickly moving towards were the other boy was sitting with Shephard. 

 

“That was harsh,” Murphy said after a few minutes of silence. 

 

Daryl just grunted, glaring at his brother. 

 

“Doesn’t mean it wasn’t right, remember being that age?”

 

“Fuck, yes.” Both brothers chuckled, shaking their heads as they thought about all the shit they had pulled at Zach’s age. They were different times now, and one bullshit teenage decision could cost them their life; or even worse, someone they loved. 

 

“We will be heading out in the next ten minutes or so.” Both brothers stood up in attention as they heard Rick raise his voice, as he started to stand up from where he was sitting. “Do you want anything else?”

 

“Some water would be nice,” Lamson said, looking at the bottle of water Murphy had in his hand longingly. Rick followed his eyes, nodding at the brothers as they moved closer, with Murphy kneeling and raising the water bottle to Lamson’s mouth. 

 

“Thanks, Sergeant Lamson,” Rick said as he turned, ready to get back to the rest of the group. 

 

“My name’s Bob,” Lamson replied, looking at Rick in the eyes. 

 

“You’re still a cop.”

 

“And apparently you aren’t, at all,” the tied up officer said, chuckling humorlessly. “You really had me going, you know? The whole act of ‘you’re still an officer’ that was very compelling.”

 

Rick looked at the man sitting down, eyebrows scrunched into a frown, tilting his head to the side. If it hadn’t been such a serious moment, Murphy would have shared the knowledge with Daryl that at that moment, Rick reminded him of snake when he was confused. 

 

“We are here just to get our people back, we’re not going to harm anyone else.” Rick had raised his voice, his hand going towards his trusty python even if the man was tied up; even if there was no real danger posed to them. 

 

Daryl took a step closer to Rick, just in case. They had lost one of their leverage already thanks to his brother’s hasty rescue; they couldn’t afford to lose another. Even less mere minutes from approaching them with the offer. 

 

“I knew he had seemed familiar,” Lamson sneered as he pointed with his chin to Daryl, before moving faster than anyone expected and headbuttted Murphy who was still crouching beside him. “But it was when I heard him speak, that I just knew.”

 

“Son of a bitch!” Murphy yelled, as he dropped on his ass, his one good hand throwing the bottle at Lamson before he used the same one to grab onto his bleeding nose. “He fucking broke it!”

 

“Bad choice, bub,” Daryl growled as he took a step closer, pulling his leg back ready to kick the shit out the man that had just broken his brother’s nose. Rick roughly pulling him back was the only reason why he didn’t. 

 

“What do you want with Murphy?” Rick asked calmly, a clear opposite of Daryl who was moments away from pushing the former officer away and getting back to what he was about to do. “Go see about your brother!” Rick barked at Daryl, watching warily as the youngest sibling dropped to his knees beside Murphy, just as Zach reached them, rifle at hand. 

 

“You really have no idea of who he is?” Lamson laughed, not affected by the identical glare he got from the siblings. “You really were an officer from a hick town, weren’t you?”

 

Rick glared at the man, taking a step back before starting to approach the brothers at a normal pace. “You are sleeping with the enemy, and you don’t even know it. You surround yourself by liars and murderers and you expect us to believe you have good intentions with our people?”

 

“Can someone please fucking gag him?” Murphy growled, as he slapped Daryl’s hands away as his brother hovered over him. “I’m fucking sick of that asshole.”

 

“There’s supposed to be another one, wasn’t it?” Rick stopped in his tracks as Lamson’s words sank in. “They weren’t identical though, the saints of Boston.”

 

“What are those?” Sasha asked, looking warily at Rick who’s eyes were trained on the two men sitting on the ground as if there wasn’t anything else in the room but them. “Who are the saints?”

 

“Some of the worst of the worst,” Lamson chuckled, looking at Sasha. “Murdered sixty nine people in cold blood, they were convicted to life in prison and transferred to a Georgia facility a few months before the world went to shit.”

 

Murphy’s eyes met Daryl’s. Identical looks of worry passing across their faces. Zach didn’t know, they hadn’t told him yet. They hadn’t even thought  about telling him yet. 

 

“Isn’t that true, Murphy MacManus?”

 

The sound of Rick cocking his gun echoed across the warehouse. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked it. Next up, Coda. 
> 
> Ya know the deal, you can find me over in [Tumblr](http://geektaire.tumblr.com)


	5. Coda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys
> 
> Thank you so much for your lovely comments. I really was not trying to guilt trip you all, but I just felt i needed to say that. This chapter is coming in a day late... but it's here!

**Chapter V**

**Coda**

“Can you hear that?”

 

Michonne blinked, looking at Connor with a slight frown before she jumped to her feet. 

 

“Let me in!” A voice could be heard screaming from the outside. “Let me in!”

 

“Son of a bitch!” Connor cursed as he struggled to get up, allowing Carl to help him as they watched Michonne draw her Katana as she left the room. “Start getting everything ready, and cover them!” he yelled, pointing in the general direction of where the girls were. 

 

Carl gave him a sharp nod, and Connor could hear him behind as he started talking Mika into helping him get everything ready for Judith. Michonne looked at him as he started limping his way towards the door, just as they started to hear pounding on it. 

 

“Please! Michonne! Carl! Connor! Let me in!”

 

“What the fuck is he doing out there?!” Connor yelled at Michonne as he started trying to pull at the boards that they had just nailed a few hours before. “I thought he was in his fucking office!”

 

“So did I!” Michonne snapped back, as she ran towards the back. Connor didn’t even look back to see what she was doing as he continued to try to pry the boards with his barely healed fingers. 

 

“Here!” Connor didn’t turn when Michonne pushed an axe into his hands. The screams from outside, from Gabriel, becoming more desperate with every moment they took to open the church doors. 

 

“Hold on!” Michonne yelled for the priest as Connor hacked once at the boards, breaking it almost in half. 

 

“Get ready, they’ll push open with the next one.” Connor didn’t even wait for Michonne to say anything before he swung the axe once more. 

 

All hell broke loose. 

 

-.-.-.

 

The sound of Rick cocking his gun echoed around the warehouse. 

 

Slowly with his hands up showing he was unarmed, Daryl stood up moving to stand in front of his brother. He felt as Murphy started to scramble up to stand behind him, his good hand grabbing onto the back of Daryl’s shirt to get some leverage, but Daryl never took his eyes off Rick. 

 

Daryl didn’t dare to blink as his eyes met Rick’s. 

 

They had gone through so much together. From that first time when he threw the squirrells at him when he’d heard about Merle, to kneeling next to each other as they awaited execution at Terminus. 

 

But this moment right then? This was  _ it _ . 

 

This moment was going to be what marked what would be coming next. Daryl had always been the one to try to back up Rick when his brothers got into rows with him. But at the same time he could also never forget what Rick had already done to them, to  _ their  _ family. How him and his brothers had almost lost everything when Rick had banished Carol. And how although Carol had apparently forgiven him for that, them - him and his brothers - hadn’t.

 

The ball was on Rick’s court, and as Daryl’s eyes went from his friend to the gun he was pointing to the middle of his chest; he just hoped that the former deputy would make the right decision. Hell on earth would fall upon him if he dared to pull the trigger. 

 

Daryl took a deep breath, as he pushed Murphy behind him when he tried to take a step forward. He was not going to let his brother get hurt, again. Not on his watch.

 

The silence was maddening, the feeling of impending doom almost making it hard for him to breathe.  Daryl could hear his heart beating in his ears as seconds felt like days.  

 

But then… Rick started chuckling. “I fucking knew it!” 

 

Daryl dared to look back over his shoulder at Murphy quickly, finding him looking as lost as he felt as Rick had to rest his hand on his knees as uncontrolled laughter took over him.

 

“Errm, Rick?” Sasha asked nervously, looking from the puzzled brothers to the laughing leader. “Everything okay?”

 

“Yeah, sorry, sorry,” Rick said still laughing as he moved to uncock his python before putting it back in his holster. “It’s just I can’t believe I never put two and two together.”

 

“You’re just going to accept that? Are you fucking crazy?!” Lamson asked, shocked as he glared at the brothers who were now just starting to get over their shock. “They’re murderers.”

 

“So am I, so are you,” Rick said matter-of-factly at their prisoner, still trying to contain a chuckle here and there. “Those two men, their woman, and their other brother?” He told Lamson as he met Murphy’s and Daryl’s eyes. “We -” He stopped to motion to all of their family “- All of us owe them our lives. I owe them the lives of my children.”

 

He looked at Sasha and Tyreese as if to make his point clear to them as well. “They’re family, and whatever they might have done before... it doesn’t matter.” Rick turned and looked right at Murphy this time. “We’re brothers in arms now.”

 

Daryl allowed his mouth to turn a little, in a small smile. Not everything was resolved between them, but it was a start. They would get over whatever had happened, they would stick together because as Rick said... they were family. 

 

“He’s fucking lost it,” Murphy muttered low enough only for Daryl to hear. Daryl couldn’t help but agree a little, Rick hadn’t been the same since what had happened to Lori, and it was hard to know how he would react. At least this time it was in their favor. He just hoped it would continue being so in the future. “But we need this to get her back.” 

 

Daryl frowned as he heard Murphy’s words, but he was unable to stop him as he pushed forward once more. 

 

“Those sixty nine people you claim we killed in cold blood?” Murphy’s eyes were cold as ice as he looked down at Lamson, he could feel everyone looking at him but he needed to get it out. He needed to convince the two people they had as prisoners to comply so they could get Carol back. “You make it sound like they were white little lambs, like they had done nothing wrong to deserve their fate…”

 

“Murph-” 

 

“No!” Daryl stopped whatever he was going to say as his brother pointed a finger at him without turning. “He has to hear this, they have to hear this.”

 

“First two were going to kill me and my brother, we got into a stupid drunken fight on Saint Patrick’s day.” Murphy stopped, taking a deep breath. “They handcuffed Connor to a toilet, and they lead me out of our apartment with a gun to my back… I could hear Connor crying out for two floors down as they marched me to an alleyway.” 

 

Murphy was not going to cry, he could hear his voice breaking as he recounted what had happened twelve years before, the pain in his heart as he thought he was going to be leaving Connor alone for good; the fear he had of his brother joining him not long after. “They made me kneel, a gun to my head-” Murphy’s voice broke “and then a fucking toilet was dropped over the head of the first one, while Connor jumped from a fucking fifth floor roof like the fucking wanker that he is to the back of the second one.”

 

Silence. Complete and utter silence surrounded Murphy as he chuckled while trying to wipe the tears that burned his eyes. 

 

“I did the first thing I thought of, grabbed the tank cover and smashed it over the other guy’s head.” Murphy took a deep breath, feeling Daryl put a hand on his back, as if the fact that his brother was there allowed him to breathe again. “We didn’t find out we had killed them until we were at the hospital getting Connor stitched up.”

 

“Every single one of those people that we killed, every single one…” he wasn’t looking at Lamson then, his eyes fleeting from every member of their family. “Deserved it, they were rapists, murderers, people the law wasn’t doing anything to stop.”

 

“It wasn’t on you to stop them!” Lamson yelled at him. 

 

“No, it was on people like you,” Murphy answered calmly. “But we were there when the system failed, we asked them to follow three principles… do not kill, do not rape, do not steal.”

 

“What about Licari? Was he as deserving as they were?” Lamson spat at him. 

 

“He was fucking choking my brother, so basically yeah,” Murphy sneered back. 

 

Daryl put his arm around Murphy’s chest from behind, keeping him in place as he made to move closer to the officer. 

 

“We’ll help you!” Shepard yelled, from her position a few feet away. “We’ll tell Dawn he was eaten by rotters, that he got bitten and you caught us when we were trying to help him.”

 

“What changed?” Rick said, motioning for Noah and Zach, who were standing closer to her to bring her closer. “You were the one saying this wouldn’t work in the first place.”

 

“I know what Lamson is talking about, but I also knew about what he said.” She motioned towards where Murphy and Daryl were standing. “I did my dissertation on their case, I know who exactly they killed and why…” Her eyes were on Rick, as she shifted uncomfortably as she felt Lamson’s glare. 

 

She took a deep breath before turning to her partner. “This is our chance to get rid of Dawn. MacManus is right, they never hurt innocents and I don’t think they’ll start now.”

 

“They’re criminals!”

 

“That was another time! This is now!” Everyone jumped startled as Shepard raised her voice. “The rules of that world don’t apply now! If they did we would all be in jail next to them!”

 

Lamson was unable to keep the eye contact, lowering his eyes and his head in shame. “You know I’m a good judge of character, they can help us get rid of the scum that plagues the hospital.”

 

“And if you’re wrong?” Lamson asked softly.

 

“She isn’t,” Daryl stepped in, moving from behind Murphy to his side. “We just want our people back, we won’t harm anyone as long as we get our wife and Beth back.”

 

“She won’t let them go without a fight, she will think she would look weak in front of the others if she does. She’s terrified of that.”

 

“We’ll get rid of her, after we get our people back,” Rick said firmly, his eyes on Lamson’s. The officer sighed, before nodding in approval.

 

“Would she know who we are?” Murphy asked, a smirk threatening to take over his features, as he looked first to his brother and then to Rick.  

 

“She might…” Shepard said as he looked warily at him. 

 

“I got an idea.”

 

-.-.-.-

 

It was pandemonium. 

 

From the moment Gabriel almost fell upon their feet as the doors slammed open, to when they - Gabriel and Connor- ended up pushing the door closed against the walkers that were trying to get to them. Connor had barely had time to think, his instincts to protect his family greater than his anger against the priest that had gotten them into this position. 

 

“That’s how I got out!” Gabriel grunted as he pushed against the door lower than were Connor was pushing. “Go through there!”

 

“Go!” Connor said to Michonne, as he winced in pain as he had to put weight against his bad leg. “Take care of Mika!”

 

“Cookie?” 

 

Connor leaned his back against the door winking at Mika while he smiled at her. “Go with Carl, princess, and take Snake with you-” the mangy dog whined beside the scared little girl. “I’ll catch up with you outside.”

 

“But-”

 

“Come on, princess,” Connor said as he tried to keep how terrified he was from her, “help Carl get Judy out, I’ll catch up as soon as I can. I need you to be brave for us, alright?” 

 

Mika nodded, her mouth turning down into a pout as she tried to contain her tears. But she did as he asked, she waited until Carl had crawled into the hole in the floor before she took the backpack of their things she had grabbed and followed, calling the dog behind her.  

 

“Connor!” Michonne snapped once the two kids and the dog had gone through, Judith clutched tight to her chest. 

 

“Go, we’ll see you out there!” Michonne seemed to try to say something. “Just go!”

 

Connor grunted, turning on his side as he saw Michonne leave through the opening. There were more walkers out there now, the weight against the door too much for only one of them to handle it. “Go!”

 

“What?!” Gabriel asked as his feet slipped against the floor, losing leverage and allowing the walkers to sneak a few more fingers into the opening of the doorway. 

 

“You’re the fucking weakest link, go and I’ll soon follow.”

 

“Connor-”

 

“Just fucking do it!” Connor barked, his voice strained at the pain he felt all over. Gabriel nodded, before moving back a little. The opening becoming bigger with walkers’ hands reaching inside as Gabriel moved towards the opening. 

 

Connor looked as Gabriel stopped, looking uncertain between the door and the opening. “Tell my family I love them.”

 

Gabriel took a step closer to the opening, only to turn, run towards the door and slam against it. A walker hand and some fingers dropping inside the now closed room. Connor looked at Gabriel flabbergasted. 

 

“Go!” Gabriel yelled grabbing Connor by the lapels and shoving him to the opening. Connor didn’t need to be told twice, he quickly shimmied himself through the opening and crawled towards the outside. 

 

“I’m telling your wife.” Connor scoffed at Michonne as she helped him up, barely able to keep his balance as Mika barreled into him. 

 

“I’m fine, princess,” he whispered softly as he leaned down running his hands through her hair, “we’re fine.”

 

“I’m not running anymore,” Gabriel said behind him, as he took Michonne’s hand helping himself up. 

 

“Good thing we’re not running anymore.”

 

While Connor waited by the fence with Judith in his arms, Mika and Snake at his side. Carl killed the few walkers stuck on the metal post they had put around the entrance, while Michonne and Gabriel closed the doors and nailed a new board across them. With Michonne finishing up tying up her belt around the door knobs. 

 

“We need to get ready,” Carl said as he came back to stand next to Connor, looking warily at the hands reaching through the small gap between the doors which Connor had hacked in his haste to let Gabriel in. He took his little sister when the girl pushed herself towards him. 

 

“We’ll be, laddie, we’ll be.”

 

Michonne rested her back against the same fence on Carl’s other side, her eyes on the priest as he looked nervously at the closed doors from just a few feet away. “What’s his deal?”

 

“I don’t know, but he had a chance to leave me there and he didn’t.” Connor sighed, smiling down at Mika as the girl burrowed closer to his side. “He helped me close the door so we could both escape.”

 

As if he could hear they were talking about him, Gabriel turned and gave them a nervous smile as he walked past them and leaned on the fence a few feet away from Mika. His back to the church as his chest heaved in panicked breaths. 

 

“Where did you go?” Michonne asked him, as she pushed herself away from the fence and approached him. 

 

“To the school,” Gabriel replied, his eyes lost somewhere only he could see. “I had to see.” He took a breath before turning to look at Michonne, “I had to know.”

 

“Connor?” Mika’s whimpers made him look down at her from where his eyes had been stranded on the priest and Michonne, only to snap towards where she was pointing when the dog barked in warning, just to see the doors shudder as the walkers pushed against them. 

 

“Where do we go?” Carl asked, his eyes terrified as he looked from the doors to Connor and back. His hand moving to his gun, a gun that Connor knew had less than half a clip of ammo left. 

 

“You take the kids and go!” Connor ordered him, pushing Mika towards Carl. “You stay behind us, if you see-”

 

“I know,” Carl said nodding as Michonne quickly helped him to put Judith in the backpack they had been using as a carrier, pulling Mika by her good arm close. “I’ll keep them safe.”

 

“Good Lad,” Connor said, winking at Mika who did not look reassured at all as he turned back towards the church. He drew his gun, just as Michonne did the same with her katana. Gabriel nervously stepped up to his other side with the machete Carl had given him before ready as well. 

 

Michonne frowned, turning her head to the side just as Connor caught whatever it was she was hearing. 

 

“What the fuck?”

 

A big fire truck ran parallel into the front of the church crushing the spikes and keeping the walkers effectively inside. 

 

Mika ran to Connor’s side as soon as Abraham got off the driver’s seat, crying into the Irishman’s arms. “Told you we would be alright, didn’t I, princess?” Mika just whimpered, and cried harder. 

 

Connor didn’t care about the people around them as he did as best he could to bend down low enough to be able to bring the little girl up into his arms, hugging her as close as he could as she wrapped her legs around his waist and sobbed against his neck. 

 

“It’s alright, princess,” Connor said as he rested his head against hers, giving a sad smile at Tara as she approached them. “Let it all out, I’m here, and we’re alright.”

 

He knew she was crying for more than what had just happened. She was letting it all out and he couldn’t really blame her. It was too much, what this world was putting these little kids through. He moved back until he was able to rest his back against the fence more as Mika continued to cling to him. 

 

“You’re back,” Michonne said to Glenn as they greeted each other, leaving Abraham, Rosita and Gabriel guarding the entrance as they moved closer to where Connor was standing. Maggie gave him a smile, kissing him on the cheek as she ran a hand softly over Mika’s back. 

 

The girl sniffed, but turned her head tucking it under Connor’s chin and giving the older woman a sad smile. 

 

“Hey, buttercup,” Glenn said softly, getting himself a brighter smile in return. “It’s good to see you up and about.”

 

“How is she doing?” Glenn asked Connor, as he caressed Mika’s head gently . 

 

“She’s better, fever broke, we got her the meds she needed.”

 

“Good,” Glenn sighed, “Eugene lied.”

 

“Son of a bitch!” 

 

Glenn chuckled sadly, “Basically, yeah.” He looked at where Abraham was stalking the perimeter. “There’s no cure, he’s passed out because Abraham reacted badly to the news.”

 

“Not that it surprises anyone,” Carl said cynically, getting himself a look from the older people. “What? It sounded stupid from the start.”

 

“Yeah, well,” Glenn said sighing in exasperation once more, “it was a good dream.” He made a pause, looking around. “Where is everybody?”

 

Michonne turned to look at Connor sharply, a grin appearing on her face as the two of them turned to look at Maggie at the same time. 

 

“Beth’s alive,” Michonne said softly as she moved to grab Maggie’s hands. “They have her at a hospital in Atlanta, the others went to get her back.”

 

“Do we know which one?” Maggie asked tearfully, her eyes full of hope as she looked at Michonne.

 

“Grady Memorial,” Connor answered, closing his eyes as he was reminded what that information had cost them. 

 

“You okay, man?” Tara asked Connor softly, as he looked away from Maggie’s joy as she embraced Glenn. 

 

“Hopefully, I’ll be,” Connor answered, giving the young woman a sad smile. 

 

“Come on,” Tara said as she moved to grab the bag Mika had dropped at their feet. Connor nodded, putting Mika back on her feet. “Let’s blow this joint, let’s save your sister,” Tara said towards Maggie, moving to allow Connor put his arm around her shoulders the moment she saw him limp as he took his first step. 

 

“What the fuck happened to you?” Tara asked him softly, as they both watched Mika walk in front of them with Snake at her side. 

 

“Oh Lass, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Connor hissed as he dared to use his bad leg. Tara just nodded, helping him the rest of the way. They were getting out of there, they had been lucky Carl had taken the time to put Mika’s meds in one backpack. They were going to get their family back… and leave this hellhole for good. 

 

With all the respect that any church of any faith deserved. 

-.-.-.

 

There was pain everywhere. 

 

The downside of the medications finally stop working was that she was feeling every single ache in her body. She had always thought the pain she had gone through with Ed was something that could have never be topped. But she had been dead wrong. 

 

The pain of losing Sophia had topped that. 

 

This was no walk in the park though. She had barely been able to talk to Beth the night before, between the medication wearing off and her possibly passing out because of the pain… but she had seen her, she had gotten to hold her hand. She had been able to give Beth hope. Hope that they were getting out of there alive, hope that they would get through this. 

 

Or at least she hoped she did. 

 

The girl had looked worse for wear. A cast on one of her hands, badly stitched wounds in her face. She had wanted to cry when she’d seen her. If not because of how she looked, but because of the lost look in her eyes. Beth who had been so full of hope and innocence was no more. This place had changed her, this place had broken that innocence they had all fought so hard to preserve. 

 

True to the woman’s, Dawn, word they hadn’t bothered to check on her anymore. She was sure someone eventually would, if just to see if she was still alive or if she was just another walker they needed to deal with. She looked at the clock on the wall. Her boys would be coming for her. 

 

The sound of the door opening brought her out of her musing, the muscles of her face reacting before her brain properly did as they smiled for her visitor.

 

“Hey,” Beth said softly as she moved to sit on the side of her bed, on her less injured side. Carol’s hand immediately moved to grasp Beth’s and they both smiled as they tried to keep tears at bay. 

 

“Hey there,” Carol answered, a small smile appearing on her face. Her voice sounded hoarse from lack of use for the last few hours, but it made Beth smile anyway. “Ready to get out of here?”

 

“They aren’t here yet...” Beth’s voice sounded small, almost childlike to Carol’s ears and she wanted nothing more than to protect her from whatever she was having to face out there. 

 

“But they will be, I trust my boys with all my heart.” Beth smiled, dropping Carol’s hand to wipe a few tears which were threatening to appear. She did not cry. Not anymore. “Just hang in there.”

 

“How do you do it?” Beth asked softly as she moved to lay her head next to Carol’s. It was moments like those that she made Carol’s heart hurt, as she imagined Sophia doing the exact same thing Beth was doing right then. “How is it you’re so strong?”

 

“You knew me back when I wasn’t, so you know I haven’t always been.” She could feel the girl’s eyes on the side of her head, but she couldn’t meet them. She was lost thinking of strawberry blond hair and freckles which mimicked the stars in the night sky. 

 

“How did you learn then?”

 

“You have to, for the people you love.”

 

“You’re strong for Daryl then?” 

 

Carol did turn to look at the girl, a soft smile at the mention of one of her loves toying at her lips. “For him, for Connor, for Murphy.” Carol stopped, as her voice threatened to break as she said their names. “For Mika, Carl, Judy, Zach, for you too.”

 

Beth sighed, moving to rest her forehead against Carol’s. “I’m scared,” she whispered. 

 

“I am too, but you have to push through that fear to protect the ones you love.” Carol could feel as the girl nodded slightly. “In this world, Bethie,” she softly said, “we can’t allow that fear to stop us from keeping the people we love safe.”

 

Silence fell upon them. Carol could feel as her eyelids started feeling heavy after a while, so she allowed herself to close her eyes. 

 

Beth smiled softly as she moved to sit on the floor by the door. She was strong, she had shown that to Dawn time after time. She just needed to be strong a little longer. Just a little longer was all she needed. Beth closed her eyes, trying to keep the burning tears at bay. 

 

The door opened and Dawn entered.  

 

-.-.-.

 

“Are you going to keep giving us the fucking silent treatment?” Murphy grunted at Zach as the boy looked through the scope towards where the meeting was going to take place. Daryl and Murphy shared an annoyed look over Zach’s head at the boy’s lack of answer. 

 

“Are you fucking twelve?” Daryl asked at the same time Murphy kicked Zach’s leg from under him making him crash hard into the ground. 

 

“Really?” Zach asked from the ground, putting a hand to his chin where it had hit the butt of his rifle going down. “And you’re asking me if I’m twelve?”

 

“He doesn’t count,” Daryl muttered as he helped him up, pulling his dirty red cloth from his back pocket and offering it to Zach to wipe his bloody chin with it.  

 

“Got you to talk to us,” Murphy grumbled as he took Zach’s face in his hand and moved him to see the damage. “Carol will barely notice.”

 

Zach moved his face away from Murphy’s touch, glaring at him. 

 

“We were going to tell you…” At Zach continuous glare Murphy added, “eventually.”

 

“Who else knew before me?” Murphy looked away as he noticed Zach’s hurt look, not answering and leaving the whole thing for Daryl to explain. 

 

“Carol found out first, then I did.” Daryl grabbed Zach by the shoulders and looked at him in the eyes. “No one else was supposed to know, not like this.”

 

“It just has been bullshit after bullshit, we were going to tell you. You’re one of us now lad,” Murphy said finally being able to get Zach to look at him. “You’re part of our family, we just needed for shit to settle.”

 

Zach sighed, looking at where Rick was standing with Sasha and Tyreese. “I would have shot him.” Daryl and Murphy looked startled at the boy in between them. “You didn’t noticed but my rifle was up and I was ready to shoot him if his finger went for the trigger.”

 

“Good lad,” Murphy said softly as he brought Zach close in a half hug. “Good thing Dick Grimes finally found his common sense.”

 

“For now,” Daryl muttered, making his brother and their kid laugh. The three of them tried to look innocent when Rick’s eyes fell upon them. 

 

“Are you sure you’re good for doing this?” Daryl asked Murphy softly as his brother passed him his gun when they saw Rick start to make his way towards them. 

 

“Yeah.” Zach and Daryl both gave Murphy a look as he muttered the answer, not sounding sure at all. “Look.” Murphy took a deep breath as he looked at Daryl. “If Connor’s plans worked in the past? Then this has to work for sure.”

 

“That doesn’t calm me down at all.”

 

“I know.”

 

-.-.-.

 

Rick chuckled as he watched Murphy flip Daryl off, his brother keeping them within the sight of his scope as they waited for the officers to arrive at the meeting point. 

 

Murphy looked at Rick with distrust in his eyes. There was almost never a time when the two of them had been alone, either because they had nothing to say to each other; or because everyone knew of their open dislike for one another so they were kept apart to avoid unnecessary drama. 

 

“What you said back there-” Murphy said without looking at Rick, his eyes on where the officers would appear at any moment now. 

 

“Was past due.” Rick did turn to look at Murphy, frowning as the other man still didn’t meet his eyes. “I owe you and your family more than I’ve ever owed anyone in my life.”

 

“Rick-”

 

“You saved Judith,” Rick’s voice broke as he said the name of his daughter. “You and Carol saved her even after all I had done to you…”

 

“Rick-”

 

“ _ You _ saved Carl.” Rick gave Murphy a lopsided sad smile, “back at the prison, after Lori…” he stopped to take a deep breath. “You kept him from being broken, you kept him from following in his old man’s shoes…”

 

Murphy shrugged, looking away.

 

“I hated you for a long time, for how easy it was for you to understand Carl… for how easy it was for the two of you to talk when he barely gave me the time of day.”

 

“I was just there when he needed me.”

 

“And I wasn’t,” Rick said, sighing, “I was, but I wasn’t. I can never thank you for everything you’ve done for my family. And I will always be in your debt for what I’ve done to yours.”

 

“We could have lost her.”

 

The silence that engulfed them was thick with tension, and Rick knew it was up to him to try and break it. 

 

“There are three things that I will regret for the rest of my life…” Rick started, stopping to take a deep breath before he continued. “Things that I will never forget I did and that I will always regret doing so.”

 

Murphy had turned to look at Rick, arms crossed across his chest as he looked surely at the man in front of him. 

 

“First was to leave Sophia alone at that riverbank. She was scared and I should have never expected her to stay put when there were monsters after her.” 

 

Murphy looked away, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from lashing out. He knew all about what had happened that day on the highway. Daryl had shared with them early on after Carol’s nightmares had woken them all up one night. With time Carol had opened up to them, and they had been able to fill in the blanks. But to hear that confession from Rick? It brought those feelings back to the surface. The feelings of impotence at not having been there for them, as silly as it seemed since he hadn’t even met them yet . The anger at the situation that made his woman go through what no parent should ever be forced to experience … to see their child turned into the monsters which haunt their dreams at night. 

 

“The second one was how I treated my wife; she died thinking I hated her.” 

 

There was nothing Murphy could say about that. He knew from here and there some of what had happened between Lori and Rick during those winter months they’d spent on the run. The icy demeanor of their leader towards his wife. They all believed it was probably guilt which had ended up breaking him after her death. Guilt was a powerful thing after all. 

 

“And the third one was banishing Carol.” The name of his wife on Rick’s lips made Murphy’s attention snap back to the former deputy. “She did not deserve what I did to her, she did not deserve for me to point my gun at her and-”

 

“You did what?” 

 

Rick raised his eyes from where he was looking at his hands only for his jaw to meet Murphy’s fist. The strength of the punch threw him to the asphalt as the middle triplet looked down at him, his chest heaving with barely repressed anger. 

 

“Murphy.”

 

Murphy closed his eyes, trying to breathe deeply as his hands shook at his sides. Carol had apparently forgotten to mention one slight detail in her story. Small thing really. The fact that Dick fucking Grimes had held her at gunpoint to keep her from going back to them. 

 

“Murph-” Rick stopped in his tracks as Murphy took a deep breath before opening his eyes and looking down at him.

 

“You’re a lucky son of a bitch, Grimes,” Murphy muttered as he put out a hand for the fallen man to grab it; helping him up when he did so. “My wife forgave you, and you earned your right to continue to live by backing us up. But hear my words…” Murphy didn’t let go of Rick’s hand, applying more strength that necessary as he sneered the words that him, “if you ever threaten my wife again in any way, I  _ will  _ kill you.”

 

“If you two are done gossiping…” Daryl’s voice came alive on the walkie Rick was carrying, “and you finally finished doing each other’s make up, they’re heading to the meeting point.”

 

“Let’s get my wife back,” Murphy muttered as him and Rick raised their hands as the patrol car came into view, both of them walking towards the car as it slowly stopped a few yards from them. The car doors opened and two officers got out, guns drawn. 

 

“Officer Franco. Officer McGinley,” Rick addressed the two men as they stood in front of them, hands up. “I’m Rick Grimes, I was a deputy at King County Sheriff’s department.”

 

“And I’m Murphy MacManus, of the Ireland MacManus…” Rick gave Murphy a look of annoyance that only seemed to make the older man preen more. 

 

“We’re here to make a proposal.” 

 

“Lay your weapons on the ground.”

 

“Alright,” Rick said nodding to Murphy who got his knife off his scabbard and dropped it, turning in a circle to show the two men that he wasn’t carrying anything. 

 

As soon as Rick did the same the two officers walked around their open doors and started approaching them. 

 

“What’s your proposal?” McGinley asked. 

 

“You have two of my people, a blond girl and his wife,” Rick said as he pointed at Murphy. “We have two of yours. We want to make an exchange. Then we’ll be on our way, no one gets hurt.”

 

“Who?” The same officer asked. 

 

“Lamson and Shepard.”

 

“You hit a woman yesterday with a car, that’s my wife,” Murphy said watching the two officers intensely. They looked at each other and he knew they weren’t happy with what had happened to her. “What do you know? Is she alive?”

 

“Murphy!” Rick barked his name, making Murphy stop in his tracks were he had started to approach the already nervous officers without realizing he was doing so. 

 

“I just need to know if she’s alive.” There was something in Murphy’s words that just made the first officer, Franco, lower his gun slowly as he looked at the distressed man in front of him. 

 

“What I heard, man,” the black man softly started to speak, not caring about the glare his partner was giving him as he put his gun in his holster. “Is that she woke up, but was unable to speak… they don’t know if it might be because she hit her head.”

 

Rick was barely able to grab onto Murphy as his legs gave out under him. 

 

“Get a grip!” Rick hissed at the Irishman as he kept on trying to keep the man uptight while still appearing like he had any control over the situation. “Murphy…”

 

“Is Noah with you?” McGinley said, his posture less nervous as he also lowered his gun. “Is that how you know?”

 

“They ran her over almost in front of us,” Murphy whispered as he took a deep breath, standing upright and pushing Rick away. “We had just rescued Noah from becoming a walker scooby snack.”

 

“Licari?”

 

“Lamson and Shepard were helping him when he got the drop on them, he was eaten by walkers.”

 

Murphy’s eyes moved behind Franco as a walker started shuffling its way towards them. 

 

“Where’s your people?” Franco asked. 

 

The walker dropped from a single shot to the head. Franco had his gun drawn and pointed at Murphy faster than the Irishman reacted. 

 

“Around,” Rick said a small triumphant smile on his face. “Radio your lieutenant. We’ll wait.”

 

“And if she doesn’t want to hear it?” Franco asked, looking from Rick to Murphy. “If you have Noah, you know who you’re dealing with.”

 

“Then tell her Murphy MacManus from the Boston saints sends his regards.” Rick shuddered at the cold tone of Murphy’s voice, a tone that he had never heard from the Irishman. “We know who she is, we know what she’s done. The Boston Saints just asked for three things, and we know she’s not upholding them.” Murphy stopped to take a breath. “Give us our wife. Give us Beth, and we’ll be merciful… don’t, and prepare.”

 

.-.-.-.

 

Mika had settled on his lap as they made their way in the cab of the firetruck towards Atlanta. Michonne had reminded him to give the girl her meds before they started, and she had settled into his arms into that deep sleep kids found in the arms of those that they knew wouldn’t let anything happen to them. 

 

Snake whined from where he had been stuffed in between his legs, rubbing his grubby face against Connor’s pants leg before resting the side of his head against it. “We’re almost there, boy,” Connor whispered as he moved the arm he had wrapped around Mika’s back, to run it over the Dog’s head. “Almost there.”

 

Connor hissed in pain when he tried to straighten his injured knee. The space was very limited and it was not doing any favors to his fucked up knee. 

 

“So you actually got to see Beth?” Maggie asked, as she half turned from the front were she was sitting between Glenn and Abraham. The firetruck was clearly not made to carry the amount of people it was currently carrying, but they had made do. 

 

“No,” Connor said softly, giving Maggie a small smile. “We met a boy that was friends with her, a boy she had saved.” 

 

“Bethie? Saved someone?” There was a certain incredulity in Maggie’s face that Connor couldn’t help but find endearing. 

 

“Sometimes little siblings surprise you, lass.” Maggie smiled sweetly at him, reaching out and touching Connor’s hand softly. 

 

“They’ll be alright.” Connor could feel everyone’s eyes on him as Maggie dared to touch the subject most of them were avoiding. “She’s a force to be reckoned with, I’m sure she’ll have them eating out of her hand by now.”

 

“If there’s someone that can handle everything, that’s Carol,” Glenn said as he moved Carl to sit on his other leg as he felt it starting to go numb. “After all she married you.”

 

“Ha fucking ha!” 

 

Connor sent a nervous look at Abraham, who continued to drive the truck without batting an eyelash throughout their exchange. Eugene was still passed out next to Michonne, while everyone else was riding in the back. 

 

The sign ‘Welcome to Atlanta’ was left behind as Abraham pushed the truck to full throttle. They were closer now, he just hoped they got there in time. 

 

-.-.-.-

 

The exchange was set up. Rick and Murphy had stood in front of the patrol car as the two officers radioed Dawn, nervousness clear in their stances at whatever the woman was telling them. Her voice was stern and loud enough that they both had heard her initial refusal to meet with them. 

 

It was true after all. What Lamson had said, that Dawn would not care about him and Shepard. The woman knew they would do her a favor if Lamson never went back, and although not with those words, her orders to the officers showed that. 

 

It wasn’t until Franco mumbled Murphy’s threat that the woman relented. Her voice coming anxiously as the two officers in front of them looked as she asked for a description of the man uttering those words. 

 

Murphy had to keep himself from smiling mockingly at them as he showed them clearly his tattoos making the ‘up yours’ sign when they tried to covertly look for them. 

 

She had said yes after Franco uttered the word ‘Aequitas’. 

 

They were asked to ride with them, and at Rick’s signal their people joined them in their own vehicles. 

 

And now they were there. At the courtyard of what once had been Grady Memorial as they waited for Officer Franco to open the doors to allow them in. 

 

Daryl had moved to Murphy’s side as soon as their vehicle stopped, knowing Tyreese and Sasha had their prisoners. He had seen his brother reaction to what the officers had told him, and he needed to know. He needed to prepare. 

 

“What did they say?” 

 

Murphy sighed, closing his eyes and moving so his back was to the strangers. “She’s alive.”

 

Daryl glared at his brother. He knew Murphy, and he knew his brother was hiding something from him. “Murph.”

 

“Let’s just go get her, she’s alive that’s all that matters.”

 

“Murphy.” Daryl’s voice was more of a pleading as he grabbed his brother’s wrist and kept him from turning away. “Please.”

 

“She’s going to be just fine,” Murphy said his eyes on Daryl’s. “We’re going to get there, and we’re going to get our wife back.”

 

Daryl let out a relieved sigh. He could see Murphy believed that, and it was enough for him. Whatever happened up there, they needed to be on the same page. They needed to be ready for it. 

 

“Let’s go get our wife,” Murphy said softly as he patted Daryl’s chest. Daryl just nodded to his older brother, moving to his side as they started to follow the officers as they opened the doors for them. 

 

Rick grabbed Lamson, while Daryl did the same with Shepard. Murphy walked in the middle of the two of them, as they used their captives as human shields while following Franco and McGinley. The rest of their family followed guns drawn. 

 

.-.-.-.

 

Carol couldn’t help but smile widely, even through her pain, as Dawn walked into her room with a dejected look on her face. “By the look on your face, I take it my boys are on their way?” Carol didn’t laugh at the startled look Dawn was unable to hide. The woman clearly was not expecting her to be addressed that way. 

 

“You can talk?”

 

Carol groaned as she pushed herself to a sitting position, the pain in her side from her broken ribs making it hard to breathe. But she didn’t allow anything but that initial groan to escape her lips. She was not going to let them know how much she was actually hurting. 

 

“And walk, and the best part… listen.” Dawn blanched at that bit of information. 

 

“Why?”

 

“Your people ran me over,” Carol said as she allowed her legs to dangle for a moment as she sat on the side of the bed; she knew if she got to her feet at once there was a high chance of her getting dizzy and needing her help. “I was suppose to just trust you?”

 

“That’s cynical,” Dawn muttered as she watched in awe as Carol got to her feet, only grimacing when her hip and leg started to throb from where she had been hit by the car. 

 

“People underestimating me… like you did?” Carol looked at Dawn head on. The officer was smaller than her, and Carol looked down at her with contempt. “That’s what has kept me alive this long…” Carol smiled and she could see as Dawn looked nervously away. “That and the fact that my husbands and I would tear this motherfucking world down for each other.”

 

“Your husbands?” 

 

Carol chuckled, grimacing as she moved to grab the shirt Dawn was clutching in her fist with her injured hand. “By the look on your face, you know who I’m talking about.”

 

Her sharp intake of breath as she tried to get the shirt on her own was all Dawn needed to rush to her aid. “I’m just trying to survive here,” she whispered as she helped Carol get her arms through the holes. “To keep the people here safe.”

 

“What I’ve seen so far-” Carol sat on the bed as she stepped into her boots, not caring that she was still wearing the hospital pants she had woken up in, “has been the loss of innocence by a girl that didn’t deserve what she has been put through.”

 

“You don’t know how it is!”

 

“A woman in a man’s position?” Carol asked, her eyes meeting Dawn’s head on. “Or being a cold hearted bitch that cares more about power than her fellow humans?”

 

Dawn sneered at Carol, and she just shook her head at her sadly. “I’ve seen the best and the worst of people, and what you’re doing here… what you did to Beth? I’ll let you come up with your own conclusions.”

 

Dawn sighed in frustration before turning on her heels and walking out. There was no more talking between the women. The doctor came by a few minutes later, with the instructions of doing something about her broken wrist. 

 

Dawn didn’t even look at her again when she was wheeled out to meet her family. 

 

“Are you ready?” Carol asked Beth softly as the girl reached to grab her uncasted hand with hers.”Hey,” Carol said softly, pulling at Beth’s hand when she didn’t even look at her. “We match.”

 

That stole a small smile from the blond girl, just as she started pushing Carol’s wheelchair forward towards the hallway where they had been instructed the exchange was going to take place. 

 

Beth sneaked a hand to touch Carol’s shoulder as they waited behind Dawn and the other officers, as they waited for their family to come and get them. Carol patted Beth’s hand softly as she kept her blue eyes trained on the doors behind where she knew her family was going to appear at any moment. 

 

Her stomach was giving somersaults at the mere thought of getting to gaze into her husbands faces once more. It had been less than a day, but her heart was already heavy with sorrow at being apart from them. She couldn’t wait to be able to touch them, to get news of how Mika was doing, to see Zach once more. 

 

Her heart skipped a beat as she spied Rick looking through one of the small glass panes on the door. He looked a tad unhinged with that beard, and the look in his eyes… but Dawn none the less gave the order for the officers to holster their weapons. Carol looked up to meet Beth’s eyes briefly, allowing a small smile to grace her face. They were close, they were very close. 

 

Daryl felt like all the weight he was carrying left him at once as he sneaked a look through the small window and saw Carol. She was behind the officers, barely visible, but she was there. She was sitting on a wheelchair but she was alive. They were so close to getting her back. He could almost taste it. 

 

“Murph,” Daryl grumbled his brother’s name under his breath, making a small head notion as he followed Rick’s orders to holster their weapons. The quick smile he got from his brother told him the message had been understood. Now they just needed to be patient. 

 

The one quality that neither of them possessed.

 

The doors were pulled open and they marched in. And like the dead sea, suddenly the officers across the hallway parted and there she was. Their wife was sitting on a wheelchair looking worse for wear, but she was alive. She was alive to give them a tentative smile. 

 

A minuscule smile that the two of them returned, they were not out of the woods yet. Almost, but not quite. 

 

Franco and McGinley walked across the hallway, joining Dawn and the rest of her people. 

 

“As you can see, they haven’t been harmed.” Rick called out, as him and Daryl pulled their prisoners forward. 

 

“Where’s Licari?” Dawn asked, her face that of someone who was very close to losing control. It was a face that reminded Daryl and Murphy of Rick at his worst, making their fingers itch to grab their guns once more. 

 

“Rotters got him,” Shepard answered her boss question. 

 

“We saw it go down,” Lamson added. 

 

“Ah.” 

 

Carol had a bad feeling about Dawn’s reaction. The woman’s hands were shaking where she had them over her holstered weapon, and she knew she was close to breaking. She shouldn’t have riled her up before, but she hadn’t been able to keep her words to herself. Not after seeing the results of whatever she had put Beth through; not after seeing the girl she cared for so lost and adrift. 

 

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Dawn’s voice broke as she spoke. “He was one of the good guys.”

 

Murphy had to keep himself from scoffing as they watched the woman in front of them tear up at news that the man which had almost cost him his brother was dead. This was the woman that was running this place, the one they all wanted to see go down. 

 

She was a dead woman walking. And it wasn’t because of what her people had done to his wife, he wasn’t that petty. She had allowed people to kill Noah’s father so they could keep him there. She had allowed coercion and abuse of power just to keep her superiority over the others. She was some of the worst kind of scum on this earth. 

 

“One of yours for one of mine.” 

 

“Alright,” Rick said as he motioned to Daryl with his head to go ahead and get Shepard through first. 

 

Murphy could hear his heartbeat in his ears as he watched Daryl push Shepard forward, at the same time an officer started to wheel Carol closer to them. His lungs were demanding him to breathe, but he was too busy watching as his brother pushed Shepard into the officer’s arms, taking the bag he was given before he pushed the wheelchair back to them. 

 

Daryl hadn’t even stopped the chair when Murphy was already pulling Carol out of it and into his arms. 

 

“I got you,” Murphy whispered to Carol’s ear, feeling her tremble in his arms as Daryl pushed the chair away and took position in front of them. Daryl’s eyes narrowed as he met Dawn’s, the look on her face one he was unable to read. 

 

The soft caress of Carol’s hand on his back was all Daryl needed for the time being. The plan was that Zach was to take care of her while Murphy returned to his position, but apparently Murphy was not going to let go once he had her back in his arms. 

 

Zach nodded to Daryl as he moved to cover his back, pushing Murphy and Carol further behind them. 

 

While they had been getting Carol off the chair, Rick and Dawn both had escorted the second exchange to the middle of the hallway.  Lamson for Beth. Rick kissed Beth’s forehead as soon as she was within distance, and with the exchange done; both of them starting walking back towards the rest of their family. Towards their freedom.

 

“Glad we could work things out,” Dawn called out to Rick as he gave Beth a gentle push so she could finish the trek, before he turned back to Dawn. 

 

“Yeah,” Rick grunted, before he turned and started to walk away. 

 

Daryl had finally allowed himself to relax once Zach and Noah had welcomed Beth back, grabbing onto Carol’s healthy hand and giving it a soft squeeze. 

 

Dawn’s next words fell like a bucket of ice water to their group. “Now I just need Noah. Then you can go.”

 

Murphy pushed Carol softly into Daryl’s arms as he moved to catch up to Rick as he walked back to Dawn.

 

“That wasn’t the deal,” Rick said with a sneer, giving a slight nod at Murphy as he stood next to him. 

 

“Noah is my ward. Beth took his place, and I’m losing her so I need him back.”

 

“That’s not going to happen.” Murphy said, crossing his arms over his chest. “He wants to go home, so we’re getting him there.”

 

“He owes me a debt, he needs to pay!” Dawn started raising her voice, as she looked over her shoulder at where her officers were positioned. 

 

“He owes you nothing,” Murphy sneered, his hand itching to pull his gun and shoot the woman in front of him. “He’s just a boy!”

 

“Ma’am-”

 

“Shepard!” Dawn barked, making the officer shut up immediately. 

 

“My officers put their lives on the line looking for him.”

 

“After they left his father to die out there!” Murphy was screaming by then. Rick was the calmer one, and he wondered if that wasn’t a recipe for disaster. “You are not going to keep him, even if I have to kill every single person that keeps us from leaving to do so.”

It was Dawn who drew first. But Murphy wasn’t that far behind. 

 

“It’s okay!” Noah said as he hurried towards where Rick and Murphy were now pointing their guns towards Dawn. “It’s okay!”

 

“No!” Rick told the boy as he put his arm out to keep him from going any further. “The deal is done, we’re getting out of here.”

 

“I got to do it,” Noah said softly to Rick, looking over his shoulder to where Murphy was. “I got to, man.”

 

“It’s not okay,” Beth muttered as she watched Noah hand in his gun to Rick, as she slowly moved with Zach at her heels towards where the black boy was still standing. 

 

“It’s settled,” Dawn said as she looked victorious at Murphy.

 

“It’s settled my as-”

 

“Wait!” Beth interrupted Murphy as she ran to Noah, pulling him into a quick hug. 

 

“It’s okay,” Noah whispered to Beth, hugging her closer before dropping a kiss to the side of her head. 

 

“I knew you would be back.” Beth glared at Dawn as she heard the words coming out of her mouth. She sneered as she saw the woman standing there, watching with a smile on her face while she kept her gun trained on Murphy who was fuming behind them. 

 

Noah started limping towards the rest of the officers as Beth moved towards Dawn, getting in the way of her pointing at Murphy. “I think I get it now,” Beth said as she looked at the older woman’s eyes.

 

Murphy jumped in shock as a gun went off.

 

“No!” Zach yelled as he pushed past Murphy to try and catch Beth as she crumpled to the ground. 

 

“Beth!” Noah yelled as he dropped to his knees beside them, his hands moving to Beth’s chest were a huge bloodstain started to spread across her shirt. 

 

“I didn’t mean to-”

 

Dawn fell on the floor dead as Zach shakily put his gun down before allowing Noah to cradle Beth’s body in his arms. 

 

The two boys were crying as Beth took her last shuddering breaths. All the grownups around them had their guns drawn, ready to start a bloodbath right then. 

 

“No! Hold your fire!” Shepard yelled as she stepped in front of their officers, arms open getting in their way. “It’s over!” She looked at Rick, before her eyes moved to Murphy. “It was just about her.”

 

Murphy nodded, putting his gun away as he knelt beside the two crying boys. 

 

“Stand down!” Shepard barked as none of the officers had followed her orders. 

 

Carol clutched at Daryl, as she felt her strength give out. “I got you, sweetheart,” Daryl whispered, his voice breaking as he moved to carry her in his arms. “I got you.”

 

“Oh Daryl,” Carol whispered into Daryl’s chest as she burrowed her face in his shirt, trying to keep her tears at bay. “Not Beth, not Beth, please.”

 

Daryl let her cry, as he was sure what he was feeling on his cheeks were his own tears. They had been so close, it had seemed so doable. And now there was another dead girl on their conscience. 

 

“Zach,” Murphy said softly as he put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “We need go.” Murphy shared a look with Rick, as the other man knelt at the other side, knife out of his scabbard. 

 

“No,” Zach repeated over and over again as he touched his forehead with Beth’s limp hand. 

 

At Rick’s nod, Murphy stood up grabbing each of the boys under their arms and getting them to their feet. “Come on,” he said softly as he pulled Zach into his chest, while he lead Noah with an arm at his back, “let’s get out of here.”

 

“But Beth…”

 

“I got her,” Rick said softly as he joined them at the doors, carrying Beth’s dead body bridal style behind them. 

 

Silently they reached their family where they were waiting for them. Carol softly reaching for Zach having the boy crumple onto both her and Daryl as he rested his face against his adoptive mother’s chest. Murphy shared a sad look with his brother, the arm he wasn’t keeping around Noah touching Daryl’s back softly. 

 

The only sound heard as they followed Rick was their crying. 

 

A fire truck stopped outside just as they opened the main doors and walked out. 

 

 


	6. What Happened and What's Going On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't forgotten about you guys! Thing is I joined the gym (ugh I know, ew) and I have been working hard and I'm so tired once I get home... but here it is! I did get to post two chapters in a month! Hope you guys like it, and as usual special thanks to my beta CharlotteAshmore for going through this with a fine comb and helping me have it more presentable for you guys.

**Chapter VI**

**What Happened and What's Going On**

 

The sobs were the only sound which echoed across the walls of the store where they had decided to lay low during the night. 

 

Daryl wanted to burrow his face in Carol’s chest, get Connor to cover his back and just try to block the sound of Maggie’s hitched breath as every sob was snatched from her chest. His chest felt like a weight was added with every sob he heard from her, from Zach, from Noah, from every single person who had loved Beth, making it almost impossible to breathe. 

 

He was a failure. If he had just taken better care of her and Zach, this wouldn’t have happened. If he had just kept his fucking eyes on the two of them at all times, this wouldn’t have happened. If he had kept his guard up, Beth would have been alive, and Carol and Connor wouldn’t be so hurt they were barely able to walk straight .

 

The walls were closing in on him, and he had tried to push Rick into getting as far away from Atlanta as they could while they still had light. But their leader hadn’t relented, and Daryl knew he was right. Their family needed to rest, they needed to regroup, and they couldn’t do that without walls and a roof, none of them  in the right headspace to try and make camp in the middle of nowhere.  

 

He hadn’t realized until then but his hands and lips had started to tingle. He blinked a couple of times as he looked down at his chest from where he was sitting with his back to the wall. He could feel a weight on his chest which kept him from breathing, but at the same time, he could see his chest heaving. It didn’t make any sense.

 

“Daryl!” The sound of his name being called out startled him, making him turn to where he had heard the voice coming from. Everything felt muffled, like he was there but not there at the sametime.

 

“Hey, sweetheart.” 

 

Daryl shook his head, closing his eyes as he watched Carol move her uncasted hand towards him to try and touch him. He let out a half sob when he felt her hand touch the side of his face. Her touch made it real, her touch meant she was there with him and not back at the hospital lost to them. 

 

“It’s alright,” Carol whispered as she pulled Daryl to her chest by the back of his head, trying not to groan in pain as her ribs protested. “I’m here, Pookie. I’m alive, and we’re going to be okay.”

 

Her heart hurt for all of her family. As Carol ran her hand through Daryl’s hair to try and calm him down, she looked around at the people scattered around. Glenn and Maggie had been given the small manager’s office and although the door was closed, her sobs could still be heard through the thin walls. 

 

The pain from Daryl’s weight on her chest was starting to make her dizzy, and like the angel he was Connor was the first one to notice, softly pulling Daryl towards him hugging his brother close as he turned to him. Connor shared a knowing look with her, as she moved to cuddle against Daryl’s back, her hand softly touching Connor’s over Daryl’s hip.  

 

The fact the place where they’d holed up was an old convenience store had it’s perks. Murphy and Daryl had basically swept them all inside towards one of the back corners, affording them some privacy. Everyone was in mourning, but Mika, Carol and Connor were recuperating from really bad injuries; they needed all the rest they could get. And that was not taking into account the fact they also had a heartbroken teen with them; Zach and Beth might not have been Romeo and Juliet in love, based by what Daryl had learned during their time together, but it didn’t mean the boy was not completely heartbroken over her loss. Currently, the boy was sleeping with both Mika and Snake curled into him, snoring gently after burrowing his face in his little sister’s hair and forcing himself to sleep. 

 

But heartbreak over loss they could do. What worried the three of them the most - Carol, Murphy, and Connor- was knowing Daryl was going to be blaming himself over her death. Even if it had been Beth’s decision which had brought that conclusion onto her. Even if it had been a mistake done by a girl who had thought she could take on the world with just her attitude and a pair of scissors.

 

Daryl felt everything deeply into his soul, and this was something which was going to try and burrow itself into his very own being and cause a scar which would never heal. That was  _ unless _ they helped him heal properly. Unless they got through his hard head that he wasn’t more responsible for her death than anyone else would be. 

 

But thinking about doing so was infinitely easier than actually getting through Carol’s husband’s thick head. Daryl was close to a full blown panic attack, with his heaving breaths and trembling limbs. And Carol’s heart ached for him. 

 

“It’s not on you, baby brother,” Connor muttered against Daryl’s brow, patting Carol’s hand as she rested her forehead against the middle of Daryl’s back. “Let it all out, but know it wasn’t on you.”

 

“Maggie-” Daryl gasped, as he tried to talk in between breaths. “Hate-” Daryl closed his eyes feeling the comfort wrought from being in the arms of his family. “Beth.”

 

“I love you,” Carol whispered against his back, breathing deeply and feeling as Daryl slowly tried to match his breathing to hers. “You got me out of there, you saved me, Pookie. You and Murphy did it.”

 

“Beth-”

 

“Listen to me, Daryl Declan,” Connor said as he moved to rest his forehead against his brother’s. Daryl’s eyes shot open as he felt Connor do that, and their eyes met. So similar, but at the same time so different. “It’s okay to mourn, to be sad about what happened…” Carol burrowed herself closer to her husband as her fingers entwined with Connors, “but I’m not going to allow you to lose yourself over what happened.”

 

“My fault,” Daryl mumbled as he closed his eyes, not being able to tolerate Connor’s intense glare for longer than a moment. “‘S all my fault.”

 

“Hey!” Connor snapped at Daryl, pushing himself on his elbow while grabbing Daryl’s face with his free hand and forcing him to meet his eyes. “I’m not going to let you do this to yourself, Decks, I’m not going to allow the actions of a stupid little girl destroy what we’ve worked so hard to accomplish.” 

 

Daryl sneered at him. “Shut up,” he hissed as he pushed Connor away, his eyes widening at Carol’s sharp intake of breath as the movement pushed her from his back as well. “I’m sorry,” Daryl whispered as he slowly turned, his back to Connor. “I didn’t mean-”

 

“I know, Pookie,” Carol said softly as she moved to lay on her back once more, allowing her ribs to rest a little. “Connor is right, though.”

 

Daryl huffed, moving to lie on his back, his arms at his sides. He wanted to touch Carol, he wanted his brother to hug him; because as much as he tried to deny it, their touch did make everything better. But he couldn’t. He wouldn’t allow himself the comfort of their love when it had been his fault they were hurt, it had been on him that Maggie’s last family member had been killed right before their eyes. It was on him that Maggie was all alone now. He had stopped them from taking the shot which could have saved Hershel’s life back at the prison; he had lost Beth, leading her to end up in that awful place.

 

“Stop it!” Connor said, as he slapped Daryl hard on the chest. 

 

“Hey!” 

 

“I can fucking see what you’re thinking and I swear to God, Daryl Declan, I’m gonna fucking knock your teeth out if you don’t stop it!”

 

“I want to see you try, Connor Cronan!” Daryl hissed back. 

 

Carol closed her eyes in exasperation as she both heard and felt the two men next to her actually start to scuffle beside her. The grunts of pain whenever one was able to land a punch, as they kept as still as possible, never forgetting she was on Daryl’s other side threatening to either make her burst laughing, or start swinging herself. She knew them, she knew them very well. Connor had tried soft comfort with Daryl, and when that didn’t help he moved to hard comfort. 

 

They might feel the need to punch their feelings out, but by the third time Carol felt Daryl tense up beside her as Connor landed a punch to his gut, she’d had enough. 

 

“For fuck’s sake!” Carol hissed as she grabbed onto Daryl’s wrist when she felt it brush her hand as he readied himself to propel against his brother to answer his blow back. “You two will stop this right now or I swear to God I will castrate you both!” 

 

“Awwww love,” Connor crooned as he pushed himself up so he could look down at her from Daryl’s other side, his lip was busted and bleeding, his smile wicked but bloody. “But then how would we-”

 

The sound of Daryl’s hand slapping over Connor’s mouth made Carol chuckle as Daryl blushed bright red. She met Connor’s eyes, seeing what she already knew she would find. He was doing his brotherly duty by keeping Daryl from wallowing in what had happened. By keeping him from retreating from them. 

 

“Did you just lick me?” Daryl asked Connor, bewildered as the other man just smiled innocently behind his hand. “You’re disgusting.”

 

Carol laughed softly as she shifted so she could force Daryl to allow her to use his arm as a pillow, moving to get as close as she could without upsetting her ribs. “Go to sleep, both of you.” 

 

“Yes, ma’am.” Connor winked at her as he moved to lay down on his side. He rested his forehead against Daryl’s brow, throwing an arm around his middle so he could lay it over Carol’s stomach, needing to feel as it rose up and down with every breath she took. 

 

They had made a stop at the same pharmacy they had found Murphy’s brace the day before, looting it of every single thing they could take with them together with what they needed. A knee brace and crutches for Connor, a sling and a wheelchair for Carol. She was able to walk but slowly and with a lot of pain. And slowly wasn’t something they could allow themselves to be while inside a city infested with walkers.  

 

Daryl allowed the silence of the convenience store, the presence of his big brother at one side, and the soft snores of his wife lull him to sleep. His wife was in his arms, his family still loved him. That would have to be enough for now. 

 

That had to be enough at least for the night. 

 

-.-.-.

 

They had buried Beth under a beautiful oak tree at one of the most beautiful parks in Atlanta.  

 

Zach looked mournfully through their Suburban back window as the park where his former girlfriend laid buried became smaller and smaller as they left behind the nightmare that was the state capital behind. He had silently helped Carol get on the first row of seats as soon as Daryl had pulled over, making sure Mika and Snake climbed in before finally helping a disgruntled Connor sit next to Carol. 

 

No one tried to join them. They had managed to score two other vehicles, a cutlass that was being driven by Rick and a white van. A white van that could have served them as a vehicle but one that Daryl had even refused to touch. Not after the last one. Not after watching his wife fall almost to her death inside of one of those. 

 

Daryl looked at his side, finding Murphy’s eyes and sharing a small smile. They were silent for most of the ride, it was early enough that they could get a good distance between them and the hell they were leaving behind. But yet they had no idea where they were going. Rick hadn’t said anything other than gathering most of the more able bodied of them that morning and getting them to work on getting them vehicles. 

 

Getting out of Atlanta had been a priority. 

 

As the sign of ‘Welcome to Atlanta’ was left behind, Daryl couldn’t help but let his eyes wander to their wife, trying to block the last two times he had seen that sign. The first one not so long before they lost Sophia, the last one just minutes after the had almost lost her. 

 

He quickly signaled Rick so they could take a different road than the one they had taken so many months before. He was not going to drive through where one of the worst moments of their lives had happened; there was no way he was doing that either to Carol or to himself. 

 

“It’s alright, you know?” Daryl’s eyes met Carol’s tired ones on the rearview mirror, “if it’s the best route, it’s the best route.”

 

“The hell it is,” Daryl grumbled, shaking his head at Murphy’s worried gaze. “Maybe you can, but that doesn’t mean I can.”

 

Carol smiled softly at him, love shinning in her eyes, settling against Connor’s side as he slumbered. It had seemed like as soon as the car had started moving the oldest of the triplets had fallen into a deep sleep. Murphy winked at Carol over his shoulder, watching her eyes start to droop as she found a good position to sleep in at Connor’s side. 

 

“She barely slept last night,” Daryl said softly, his eyes moving to check on the kids in the mirror before turning back to the road. “She helped us keep it together.”

 

“We would be lost without her.”

 

“And that’s the honest truth brother, that’s the honest truth.”

 

-.-.-.

 

The day had been short. Everyone needed rest, and that included the drivers. They also needed a plan, which no one seemed to have. And worse, no one seemed to be looking. 

 

Abraham was lost in a haze, the lack of a set goal taking it’s toll on the military man. Eugene had finally woken up the day before, his silence either a sign of the damaged done by the readhead or just a precautionary measure to avoid getting his ass kicked again. 

 

Maggie still only cried. Glenn had spent all of his time by his wife, trying to support her and be there for her. They had all seen the toll it was taking on him, especially as he watched sadly as his wife sat by the fire and cried; not allowing him any closer than a few feet.  

 

And the brothers still hovered. Out of their small little family, three out of the six of them were out for the count. And the three remaining - four if you counted the damned dog - couldn’t help but try and keep the others as comfortable as the end of days allowed them. 

 

Daryl had left to hunt as soon as it was decided they were stopping for the day, a good thirty miles out of the Atlanta suburban area. The woods where close, but they had made camp at what had been a rest stop once. He left Murphy in charge of them as he went off to try and get his family some food. His priorities were Mika, Carol and Judith; Judith had enough formula and baby food raided from the pharmacy to get her through a month… Carol and Mika needed food to get better, to heal. There was no way in hell he was going to allow his girls to starve. 

 

The place was still too close to the initial damage, and game was scarce. He hadn’t caught anything to write home about, a few rabbits and half a dozen squirrels. Not enough to feed the group of almost twenty, or at least not enough to keep their bellies from grumbling three ways to Sunday. But without even saying a word, they had decided to give their shares to their ladies. And with a little white lying from all of them, Carol and Mika had eaten enough to allow them to fall asleep with a full belly.

Not even Snake complained at the lack of food, the dog had just disappeared for a while once it was obvious they were settling down for the night only to come back with a bloody snout and a satisfied face. 

 

“Bloody asshole, you should share too, you know?” Murphy grumbled at the dog, not hiding his smile when the dog gave him a smug look before lying down at Daryl’s side and resting his head on his leg. 

 

“You’re gonna spoil it rotten, aren’t ya?” Connor asked, a small smile on his face as he saw Daryl stop cleaning his gun to pet the filthy animal’s head.

 

“He deserves it, don’t you, boy?” Murphy couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched Daryl talk to the dog as if it was another human being. He wasn’t baby talking like Mika or Carol did, but he was clearly talking to the dog as if it understood what he was saying. 

 

“He behaves better than you lot,” Michonne said as she approached the three men and the dog sitting around the small fire they had started close to their vehicle. “I don’t know how you convinced Carol to marry your sorry asses.”

 

“Neither do we, lass. Neither do we.” 

 

Michonne chuckled at Connor’s words as she crouched between him and Daryl, letting her eyes linger on the fire for a little too long. She wasn’t sure the boys would be willing to follow Rick’s lead, especially after what she learned had actually gone down during their time in Atlanta. “Rick wants to take Noah back to Virginia, apparently that’s what Beth wanted to do before…”

 

She didn’t need to finish the sentence for them to know what she meant. Zach just huffed, his hands rubbing the cloth he was using to clean his rifle harder than it was needed to. It was the second night since Beth’s death, and their boy was in the ‘anger’ part of his mourning process. He had been short with everyone but Carol and Mika, and he had been close to getting his ass kicked by Murphy earlier that afternoon. 

 

Daryl shot him a look, and Zach tensed just by feeling Daryl’s eyes on him. He knew he was being a dick, he knew it. But he was just so mad, he was mad at the universe, he was mad at himself for not shooting the bitch first, he was mad at Noah for being a pussy and leaving Beth behind… but the worst of all, the one that made him the angriest was that he was crazy mad at Beth. 

 

He was mad at her stupid decision to try and do something when she had never done so before; he was mad she had felt something for Noah that she had clearly never felt for him. He was mad at her timing, he was just so so mad. 

 

He didn’t realize he had missed the rest of whatever Michonne had come to tell them as the older woman patted him on the shoulder, walking past where he was still cleaning the same rifle he had been on for ages. Zach dared to steal a look at Daryl, who looked dejected ,but whom Murphy quickly engaged in something else to try and perk him up. 

 

He might be the angriest at Beth for the guilt Daryl had taken upon himself. He had been the one to open the door to the funeral home, he had been the one standing just steps behind Beth with a rifle in his arms…  _ him _ . 

 

“Come on, lad,” Connor said softly as he started to push himself off the ground, smiling at Zach a little when the boy rushed to his aid. “Let’s get some rest, the road awaits us bright and early tomorrow.”

 

Zach sighed, helping the limping Connor back to the suburban. Maggie’s sobs echoing around the camp. 

 

-.-.-

 

Daryl sighed as he let the window down, allowing the late summer early morning breeze to enter their vehicle. It was the third day since they had left Atlanta behind, and they weren’t getting any closer to their destination.

 

It was two steps forward, three backwards so far. Most of the highways were blocked, and they had traced a route through the backwater roads out from Georgia. They would be crossing the state lines that afternoon if everything worked out. It would be the first time since he had memory he would be leaving the state which had seen him grow up. 

 

He dared to look back in the rearview mirror. It was early enough everyone was still asleep. Everyone except Zach. Carol and Connor were still out for the count; with Carol still on strong painkillers, and Connor’s knee still unable to handle his weight. Mika and Murphy were on the mend, with the little girl’s fever completely gone and her arm regaining movement with every day which passed; Murphy meanwhile was still wearing the brace, and was barely using his arm, but he was doing better. 

 

Zach, meanwhile, was not physically injured, no. But his boy’s heart was bleeding. He didn’t know what to say, or how to act, but he knew what Zach was doing, because it was what he would have done. Before Connor, Murphy, and Carol; before them, he would have closed himself off and tried to fight everyone over the pain in his heart. Damn, he had even tried to do it on the first day, only for it to be shut down quickly by Carol and Connor. His eyes sought Zach’s, only for the boy to never turn to face him.

 

It was day three, and smiles and laughter had started to come back to their group. Maggie, Zach and Noah being the ones who were obviously taking it the worst. And the boys, instead of trying to be there for each other, couldn’t bare to even share a common space. Daryl was sure if he hadn’t made Zach accompany him to hunt every time, it might have escalated to something he wasn’t sure he would want to stop. 

 

The kids needed to get it out of their systems, and maybe they just needed to punch it out like he and Connor did. 

 

A soft whimper, and a cold nose burrowing under his arm made him smile as he took his eyes off the road for a moment to look down as Snake burrowed his face under his arm to get him to pet him. “You’re the only one awake, buddy?” Daryl smiled as he petted the dog, a soft sigh leaving his chest as he continued to follow the white van in front of them. 

 

They had a long road ahead of them.

 

-.-.-

 

Carol had developed a cough during the fifth night after they had left Atlanta. Connor winced hearing the low whine of pain from his wife, her chest contracting with every cough as she tried to dislodge the phlegm stuck in her breathing tube. 

 

“Do we still have some antibiotics left?” Connor asked Rosita softly, after he had hobbled across the camp to where she was. 

 

“Yeah, we got some good stuff from that pharmacy you took us to,” Rosita said as she looked Connor over. “You sick or something?”

 

“Carol,” Connor sighed as he looked over his shoulder to where Mika was talking to his wife. Carol tried to hide the fact that she was in pain, but he knew better.  _ They  _ knew better. “She’s been coughing, and I worry-”

 

“Does she have a fever?” 

 

“Not yet, but she has a couple of broken ribs.” Rosita made a face at Connor’s words, nodding as she started going through the big bag laden with their medications. “Here.”

 

Connor gave her a small smile as he took the bottle of antibiotics. He gave Rick a look when the man seemed to consider opening his mouth to ask about their exchange. They had finally gotten all the truth out of Carol, after Murphy had told him what exactly had happened in Atlanta. How Rick had stuck up for both of them, but also how their ‘leader’ had let slip part of what he had done to Carol. They weren’t good, not even close. Connor might be forgiving and merciful… but Rick had gone over a line he had never thought the man would have been close to crossing. 

 

Rick had dared to threaten their wife. He had put a gun to Carol’s face and told her no one wanted her back at the prison. He had told her not to dare to come back and that he would shoot her on sight. Carol might have forgiven him, but he hadn’t. He might have earned Murphy’s forgiveness, but he hadn’t yet earned his. 

 

Rick fucking Grimes had a lot to atone for in Connor’s book, and the man should stay the fuck away from his wife if he knew what was good for his health. Connor had made many children orphans by now, why would another one make any difference?

 

“Hey, love.” Connor’s heart skipped a beat as Carol looked up at him with a smile on her face. He loved her so much. Never in his life he had felt what he did for her, love so strong but yet so different to what he felt for Murphy. Her calloused hand moved to grab his, entwining their fingers before bringing his hand to her mouth and kissing the back of it. 

 

He couldn’t believe anyone, least of all Rick, could ever believe the woman smiling at him could have gone cold. How could they see what she did for them on a daily basis, and still think she didn’t have a reason to do every single thing that she did. She was their sun, she was their heart. And he truly didn’t know how either one of them had ever lived without her. 

 

He didn’t even realize the presence of the other man until Mika stopped talking, and Carol’s grip on his hand became strong enough to cause him pain. 

 

“I need to talk to you,” Rick said trying to give Mika a smile, which the little girl didn’t answer, instead moving to carefully burrow herself into Carol’s side. 

 

“Connor?”

 

Connor took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to hear Rick try talk his way out of what he had done. He didn’t want to hear him say something to try to appeal to his more logical side. In fact, he didn’t even want to be alone with Rick right then in fear he would say the wrong thing which would lead him to beat the man to death. He had never done it before, but for Jesus, he knew he had the strength to do so. 

 

“Connor?” Carol’s sweet voice and hand on his cheek as she turned his face towards her humbled him. “You have to let it go, love.”

 

“He sent you away.” His voice was strained, as if he wanted to yell but was forcing himself to stay as calm as he could. “He pointed a gun at you.”

 

Carol gave him a sad smile, removing the hand from his cheek to push a strand of his hair off his forehead. “Do you have an idea of how much I love you?” 

 

Connor took a deep breath at her words, closing his eyes before sighing and allowing her hand on his hair to sooth him. “Maybe as much as I do?”

 

“Then hear me out,” Carol said as she shot a look at a stunned Rick. He looked like he was seeing them for the first time. “You have to let it go, let go of all the pain you have in your heart. It’s not worth it, Cookie. I’m here, and whatever your head is telling you could have happened, didn’t.” 

 

“But-”

 

“No.” Connor tried not to smile as he felt her finger over his lips stopping him from continuing. “Whatever you think happened, it didn’t. I’m here, with you. And I’m not going to let anyone take me away ever again.”

 

Connor sighed, opening his eyes and zeroing on a uncomfortable looking Rick. He was looking at his feet, unable to meet their eyes. “Let’s talk then, Grimes.”

 

Rick nodded, waiting until Connor was limping away before giving Carol a thankful look and following the oldest of the triplets. 

 

Connor walked until he decided they were far away enough to keep their talk private, before resting his back against a tree trunk and taking the weight off his bad leg. “Well,” Connor sighed, huffing as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Talk.”

 

“Look…” Connor sneered as the mere sound of Rick’s twangy accent made his blood boil, “I know I fucked up, I shouldn’t have done that to her and I’m sorry.”

 

“Have you told her that?”

 

“I did… I think I did.”

 

“She’s a better person than me then.”

 

“She’s a better person than most of us, if we’re being honest.” Connor nodded at Rick words. There was one thing keeping him from throwing himself at him, and that was the respect he could hear lingering in his voice. 

 

“It would have killed us if something had happened to her.”

 

“I didn’t know,” Rick said softly as he looked back towards the camp where he could see Carl and Murphy had joined Mika and Carol. He smiled as he saw his son smile for the first time in days. “I was too blind to see, too messed up.”

 

“If you ever do something like that again; I hope you pray to the Almighty I never find you because I will kill you.” 

 

“Not if she does it first.”

 

Connor just nodded, a smirk on his face as he looked at his fierce wife.  “She wouldn’t. She would castrate you, and she knows I would like to have the honors.”

 

Rick gulped, before turning to look at Connor once more. “So we’re good?” he asked as he put out his hand for the oldest of the MacManus to shake. 

 

Connor took it, squeezing it with more strength than necessary, his smirk getting bigger as he saw Rick try to pretend he wasn’t in pain. “I mean it, Grimes. Something happens to my wife, or my children because of something you did... I will end you.”

 

Rick let out a breath as Connor dropped his hand and limped his way back to his family. That man was every bit as scary as someone with sixty nine confirmed kills before the turn would ever be. 

 

Rick shook his hand as he walked back towards the camp. And he had a hell of a grip as well. 

 

.-.-.-.-.-

 

The fight which had been brewing since they’d left Atlanta, finally happened on day seven. 

 

“Daryl! Connor!” Carol called out.  looking bewildered as Noah threw a punch at Zach, wincing as the crunch of Zach’s nose echoed across the room they had chosen for  the night. 

 

They were secure for the night, so the boys had stepped out to have a smoke before coming back in to settle in to sleep. The place was good enough, with four walls a roof and only one entrance/exit that it had been decided most of them were going to get some proper sleep. They had hit a market store a few days before, so they still had enough food that they were also going to sleep with a full stomach. That must have been enough to have most of them in good spirits. 

 

Carol hadn’t heard what had brought the fight on. She had been lying down on their makeshift bed, Mika already asleep closest to the wall; when she saw her boy throw the first punch. Her ribs had protested when she had tried to get up fast, and her only choice had been to call out for her boys to come and help. 

 

Zach’s face was a bloody mess by the time Abraham had grabbed Noah by the waist and threw him to Tyreese. Murphy and Daryl having pulled Zach from the floor by then, pushing him behind them as they glared at the boy in Tyreese’s grasp. 

 

“What the fuck is wrong with you, little fucker?” Daryl growled as he took a step closer to the struggling boy. His face full of anger as he stalked his way towards Noah. “Do you want to fight? Is that it?”

 

“Daryl!” Glenn yelled, as he stepped in front of the now petrified Noah, putting his hands on the archer’s chest and pushing him back. Or trying to, as he was unable to move the angered redneck. “Zach was the one who started it!”

 

“Bullshit!”

 

“Declan!” Carol called out from where she was sitting, her arms around her ribs. “He did, Zach started the fight.” 

 

Daryl looked at her over his shoulder, and she saw the moment his anger turned into angry concern. “You, out!” Daryl yelled as he grabbed Zach by the back of his neck and started marching him out of the warehouse, knowing Murphy and Connor would soon follow. 

 

“What the fuck did you think you were doing?” Daryl growled at their young charge as he used the light from the campfire they had used to cook to check Zach’s face. He had a broken nose, as well as a busted lip. “Why the fuck would you get into a fight? What the fucking fuck?”

 

Daryl didn’t even give him a time to answer, as he grabbed the sides of his nose and quickly moved it back into place. He let go of Zach’s face as the boy took a step back, cursing to the four winds as his hands moved to his busted nose. 

 

The three brothers stood side by side, wearing identical looks of anger as they crossed their arms over their chests. Murphy passed Zach a rag, and a bottle of water so he could clean up his messy face, waiting in silence for him to explain. For him to finally talk about what they all knew had been bothering him since Atlanta. 

 

He was more like them, like Daryl, than  they’d ever thought possible. Zach looked on defiantly at his three caretakers, his nose throbbing and his lip bleeding. 

 

Connor’s eyes softened as he saw the gesture of defiance as what it was. He was a kid in pain, a kid who didn’t know how to move on from what had happened. A kid who had seen his girlfriend’s brains blown into pieces in front of him. A kid who had murdered in revenge. 

 

“She’s gone, Zach.”

 

Zach flinched as if he had been burned. 

 

“It wasn’t your fault, it wasn’t Noah’s fault, it was neither of our faults.”

 

“It’s not that,” Zach grumbled, looking away as he spit some of the blood he had swallowed to the side. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“It was mine.” Murphy and Connor shared a look as Daryl took a step forward, then another. Zach instead moved back, as if Daryl’s presence was already too much for the boy’s mind. “Is that it? Are you mad at Noah when you should have been mad at me? It was my fault that Beth’s dead.”

 

“No,” Zach muttered as he continued to walk backwards with every step Daryl took towards him. “No.”

 

“I should have taken better care of you two,” Daryl said softly as he finally reached Zach, resting his hands softly over his shoulders. “I’m sorry, Zach. It was my fault; you lost her because of me.”

 

“No.”

 

“Zach I-”

 

“I WAS THE ONE THAT OPENED THE DOOR! I WAS THE ONE THAT LET THE WALKERS IN!” Zach yelled as he pulled himself away from Daryl’s comfort. “I was the one who fucked up and got her taken, I was the one who let her walk back to him and get her brains blown to bits!”

 

“Zach, no,” Daryl said softly, putting his hands on the boy’s neck forcing him to make eye contact. “It wasn’t your fault, it wasn’t Noah’s fault.”

 

“She’s dead, Daryl,” Zach’s voice broke as his lower lip started to tremble.

 

“I’m sorry.” Daryl pulled Zach into his arms as the first sob tore from the boy’s chest. Eyes closing as he felt the pain in his chest like it was his own. He should have known. The boy had been showing the same pattern of behavior he himself would have shown at that age. He was glad at least he was letting it all go. 

 

“It’s going to be okay, son,” Daryl whispered softly against his hair as he let the boy cling to him as he cried. They would let him cry himself silly, and then they would dedicate their time to helping him build himself back. He was one of them now, and they took care of their own. 

 

That night Zach slept between Carol and him, his face pressed against his ‘Mama Carol’s’ shoulder as he softly clung to her. 

 

They would all get through this. 

 

-.-.-.

 

“Jesus Christ,” Carol moaned as she felt Murphy’s beard scrape against her bare breast, as Daryl’s mouth continued to place soft bites against the side of her neck. 

 

“You should know by now, love, you shouldn’t use the name of God in vain.” Connor chuckled as he was the recipient of an annoyed look from Carol, her uncasted hand moving to grasp the back of his head from where he was leaning forward and pulling hard. 

 

Mika, Zach and Snake had decided they were going to spend the night next door with Carl and Tara. They had found a deserted bed and breakfast on their ninth day after Atlanta. The house was defendable for at least a night, and it had enough rooms most of them had been able to get one of their own. Or at least one per family. Mika had found some board games and had quickly roped first Tara and then Carl into joining her. Zach had given them a look and proceed to follow his little sister, together with their dog, to one of the rooms on the upper level. 

 

And suddenly, for the first time since their wedding night, they had found themselves alone, in a room with a lock on it. 

 

Carol had actually been the one to make the first move. The boys hadn’t even been thinking about anything other than getting some rest until she had started to unbutton Murphy’s shirt, a wicked smile on her face. 

 

One thing had led to another, and now they found themselves on the bed. Naked as the day they were born, trying to be as quiet as possible as they worshipped every inch of their wife’s body.

 

Connor moaned as Carol’s fingers pulled harder on his hair, burrowing his face on the side opposite to where Daryl was sucking as if there was no tomorrow. They not only had to be as quiet as possible, but they also had to be tender and careful. Carol’s body, exposed to them fully for the first time since their wedding night, was bruised almost from head to toe. 

 

Carol had quickly stopped them when they tried to dissuade her. She needed this, she needed them. So that’s how Connor found himself with his girl between his legs, his chest plastered against her back as she moaned when one of his brothers hit the right spot. 

 

More than once he had shot his brothers warning looks, when her moans of pleasure turned into hisses of pain. But otherwise she was just happy being able to be among her boys once more. 

 

“Murphy, please.”

 

Murphy looked wickedly from between her legs, moving to softly bite the inside of her thigh  Daryl’s mouth on hers, quieting her moan as Murphy’s mouth finally moved to where she wanted him most. 

 

Connor smiled against her neck as he thought about the care the three of them took as they divested her of her own garments. The tenderness with which Daryl had slowly started to clean every inch of her with some of the boiled water they had brought in for drinking, and some of the soap they had found under the sink. Their girl had been complaining earlier that week of how jealous she was of the fact they could just take a swim in one of the creeks they had found while she couldn’t because she could barely stand on her own ten days after her car accident. 

 

Daryl and Connor shared a knowing look over their girl’s expression as she gasped when Murphy entered her. They could have had a lifetime with her, and it wouldn’t have been enough time to give her all the pleasure they thought she deserved. 

 

She was the best thing that had happened to them, and they were sure trying to show it to her every chance they could. Connor moaned as Carol’s hand found the back of his neck, pushing his face harder against her neck as Murphy hit the spot they knew made her see stars. Her nails were probably leaving marks, but they were marks Connor would gladly wear proudly for all to see. 

 

Murphy’s curses made him look up, watching as his brother pushed himself off of her, urging Daryl to take his place before dropping spent on his side next to them. 

 

“Decks, please?!” There was a pleading to her tone which was making even him, the one of them who had never actually felt the need to have proper sex with her, fill her in and give her everything she wanted. 

 

Connor could feel his cock getting harder than ever against her ass just as Daryl finally entered her. Daryl, bless his soul, was probably closer than her to actually coming. His brother not having basically any experience before her, being the one out of the three of them who was more ‘trigger’ happy. 

 

“Harder, please!” Carol breathed against Connor’s ear as she turned her face breathing hard. “Please.”

 

Connor sneaked a hand from where he had it around her waist, trying to find her clit. But instead his fingers bumped against where Daryl was thrusting into her. 

 

“Fuck!” Daryl moaned as the sensation of his brother’s mistaken touch triggered him into orgasm. 

 

“No, no, no,” Carol begged as her good hand pushed her nails harder against Connor’s neck. “Not yet, please.”

 

“Can you move to your side, love?” Connor asked softly, as he pushed Daryl from her front, feeling more than seeing as his brother dropped himself to their other side, half spent, half ashamed of not having self control. “Can you?” Connor asked again when Carol didn’t answer. 

 

She nodded, her hand leaving the back of his neck and moving towards Murphy who pulled softly until she was lying on her side. Softly Connor pushed his bad leg between hers, before grabbing his cock in his hand and positioning himself to enter her. 

 

“Con?” Carol asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she turned to look at him. Her pupils were wide, the sky blue of her eyes barely visible. 

 

“I’m here, love, I’m here,” Connor whispered softly as he slowly started to push from behind. 

 

“Oh, Con,” Carol sighed, her good hand finding his hand over her stomach and bringing it to grasp her breast. “Connor,” she sighed in pleasure.

 

“I’m here, love,” Connor sighed, closing his eyes as he breathed hard against her ear. “You feel so good.” She was tighter than he ever thought she could be, and the heat encompassing his cock was maddening. 

 

“Please,” Carol continued to beg, moaning as Connor pulled back before pushing all the way in. “Please.”

 

“We got you, love,” Murphy said as he moved to plaster himself to Carol’s front. One of his hands moving to rub at Carol’s clit, while the other he draped over her until he was pushing Connor as close to her as he could. “Connor is going to make you come, he’s going to make you come like you need. Won’t you?”

 

“Please, Connor, please?”

 

Connor was beyond words then. He felt Carol’s hand leave his over her breast, and move so she was squeezing his buttock, pulling him closer if that was even possible. 

 

Daryl’s hand sneaked over Connor’s chest, and moved to pinch Carol’s nipple. And that seemed to finally do the trick. 

 

Connor moaned as he felt Carol’s orgasm while he was inside of her, burrowing his head against her neck biting hard as he was hit with is own. 

 

They were all breathing hard when Carol finally came down from her high. 

 

Daryl was the only one who didn’t find it funny the next morning when Michonne complained of how there seemed to be ghosts haunting the old inn. What with all the moaning and groaning she’d heard throughout the night. 

 

-.-.-.

 

Carol had commandeered the passenger seat. By the time Daryl had finished tackling what route they were going to take out of North Carolina, with the drivers of the other vehicles -Abraham and Rick- Murphy and Carol were already sitting on the driver's and passenger seats each, and neither had any rush into moving someplace else. 

 

“Sorry, Pookie,” Carol said with a cheeky smile as he rested his arms on her window, leaning into the car. “Connor snores, I was tired of being his pillow anyway.”

 

Daryl rolled his eyes as he made his way into the car, pushing Connor away when he tried to drape himself all over him as soon as he sat beside him. Daryl had to fight to keep his scowl on as he heard Mika giggle. The sound was music to all of their ears. 

 

“Where to, love?” Murphy said, putting on some shades he had found somewhere along the way, giving Carol a cheeky grin. 

 

“With you handsome? Anywhere.”

 

Zach’s groan of annoyance and Mika’s giggles made everyone in the car grin as Murphy put the suburban in drive and followed Abraham’s van as it left their camp. It had been eleven days since they’d left Atlanta, and although they had made it through across almost three states already. There wasn’t an ending in sight. 

 

Noah and Zach had made peace with what had happened a few days before, and Noah had finally stopped looking at Daryl like he was going to piss himself if Daryl gave him as much as a glare. And in turn, Daryl was slightly enjoying it more than he should have. When Daryl had walked in to see them fighting, he’s gone into what Zach now had Mika calling ‘Papa bear’ mode; in which he wanted to make sure everyone around them knew absolutely  _ no one _ touched his kids without there being consequences. Just in case anyone got any ideas. 

 

Daryl didn’t even push Connor away when his brother turned on his side and started using his shoulder and chest as a backrest,instead throwing his arm over Connor’s chest getting into a more comfortable position

. 

He did sometimes. Daryl wondered, how was it he had gotten so lucky?. Before the world had gone to shit he had a father who hated him, an uncle who wasn’t any better; and a brother he couldn’t count on. He had barely been able to tolerate Merle touching him, and he had never felt the touch of a woman, or the softness of lips against his. He had never known true loyalty, nor healthy fraternal love. And now? Now he had more people to love, and loved him than he’d had in his whole life. People he knew would die for him, as easily as he would die for them. 

 

He knew love, loyalty, family… he had everything he had ever wanted, and all that’d had to happen was the world to end. 

 

That was Daryl Dixon’s life in a nutshell. 

 

It wasn’t like Merle hadn’t loved him, he knew now how much he really did. It just was that he had a very fucked up way of showing it. He had talked about it with his family, during some of those long winter nights at the prison; and they all agreed that maybe Merle just hadn’t known better. For Merle, he had shown Daryl his love as best as he could. It just wasn’t what Daryl needed. Daryl, after all, hadn’t been like Merle. His oldest brother having even said more than on one occasion how he, Daryl, was the sweet one out of the two.

 

Merle had been thought toxic love, and Daryl had always been too sweet to handle it. In the end, his brother had shown ed him the ultimate proof of his love. He had given them a chance. Merle gave Daryl a chance to have what Merle had never been able to give him; what he had right there with him. To get to know his brothers, to marry his wife, to open his heart to the two kids on the back seat. Without Merle, he wouldn’t have made it this far.

 

“You alright?” Connor asked softly, turning his head and bumping Daryl’s cheek softly with his forehead. Daryl just nodded, settling in better on the middle seat as Murphy drove. He was good, he had everything he needed in that suburban with him. 

 

“Pookie is alright,” Murphy said from the driver’s seat, shooting Daryl a cheeky smile over the rearview mirror as he met his glaring eyes. “But you know what would make him feel even better?”

 

Connor pushed himself into a better sitting position, sharing a concerned look with Daryl. 

 

“Some music.” Murphy said as he pushed a tape into the old stereo. Carol just chuckled, looking back at her boys as the first chords of Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ started sounding after a few seconds. 

 

A smile appeared on Daryl’s face as Murphy started to sing along. He closed his eyes as he let his brother’s voice blend together with the vocalist. He was suddenly transported back in time; he was eleven, sitting on a worktable as he watched Merle fix his bike. The song had come on the radio and Merle had started to sing using a screwdriver as a pretended mic. He would see Merle’s curly hair bop up and down as he danced around while trying to hit the high notes, making little Daryl burst into giggles at his antics.  

 

He opened his eyes, joining in Murphy in the chorus surprising everyone. Carol turned her head, grinning at him as she too sang along. 

 

As they continued to sing, Daryl couldn’t help but thank Merle for getting him to where he was. He wouldn’t have made it without him, he wouldn’t have had this without his help. 

 

And as they finally crossed the line to Virginia, they continued to sing along. Leaving North Carolina behind, and getting closer to the end of their journey. 

 

-.-.-.

 

“It makes sense, you know...” Carol said softly to Daryl and Murphy as she watched them unload their things from the suburban. “It’s the second biggest vehicle.”

 

Daryl didn’t say anything, he just huffed as he made sure they hadn’t left anything inside what had basically been their home for the past thirteen days. 

 

“It’s the logical choice, love, doesn’t mean we have to be happy about it.”

 

Carol smiled softly as she watched Daryl take the tape out of the stereo and place it in one of his pants side pockets. It wasn’t like she wasn’t going to miss the old thing either, they had done a lot of healing in that monstrosity. But it didn’t mean they were losing it for good. They were suppose to come back for the rest of them. 

 

“Almost ready?” Rick asked softly as he stood next to her, watching as Murphy and Daryl finished unloading all their belongings. It wasn’t much, but it was theirs. 

 

“Please try to bring back Iwan in one piece? It took us some time to break him in.”

 

“Iwan?” Rick asked with a half smile, side eying Carol as she watched Murphy kicking Daryl in the back of the knee and laughing when his brother stumbled. 

 

Carol just pointed at the beat up suburban while raising an eyebrow at Rick. 

 

“We’ll try.” 

 

Carol just huffed a chuckle, before walking slowly towards were Mika was sitting down on the ground petting Snake as Connor watched on while sitting with his back against a log. 

 

“How’s the most beautiful girl in all Virginia?” Connor asked, a smile on his face as he raised a hand for Carol to grab, entwining their fingers as soon as he was able to as she sat beside him. 

 

“She’s doing fine, aren’t you Mika?” Carol said, tenderly caressing the back of Connor’s hand with her thumb, reminiscent of  the last time one of them had asked her the same question. It had been less than a year ago at the prison, but it felt like a lifetime ago. 

 

“I was going to ask about Mika next,” Connor whispered in her ear as he pulled her close to drop a kiss to the side of her head, before turning his attention to their girl sitting nearby. 

“Did Muffin get all my stuff?” Mika asked as she continued petting the dog. No one had been entirely happy about the change of vehicles, but the ones who were clearly having a harder time were strangely Mika and Daryl. 

 

“He did, do you want to go make sure?” Mika shrugged at Carol’s proposal, and the older woman couldn’t help but notice how the gesture had started to seem symmetrical once again. Mika had taken some time to heal, but at almost three weeks from her ‘accident’ she was almost back to normal. 

 

“Do you think Noah’s place will have other children?” Carol sighed, resting her weight against Connor as they watched over Mika. Their little girl had somehow preserved that innocence which had reminded her so much of Sophia the first time they’d met, and she thanked God every day for that. 

 

“Well, I’m going to find out for you!” Mika giggled when Tyreese came out from behind her, pulling her up into the air by her waist, laughing with her as he put her down.

 

Tyreese patted the top of Mika’s head, just before the girl ran off to the other side of the camp to say something to Zach and Tara. Tyreese’s gaze turned to Carol, who was still half sitting half lying against Connor by the campfire. 

 

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Carol asked Tyreese softly. 

 

“Noah needs someone to be there for him; I have to.”

 

“You’ve done enough, lad,” Connor added, squeezing Carol’s hand softly. “You don’t have to prove anything to anyone.”      

 

“I have to prove it to myself,” Tyreese answered. “Stay safe.” His last words were said directly to Carol. 

 

“Don’t worry, big man,” Connor said, “they’re in good hands.”

 

“They better be.”

 

“You ready?” Rick said as he approached Tyreese, getting a nod from the bigger man. Rick sighed,crouching so he could be at the same height as Carol. “So I’m leaving the walkie with you, just keep it nearby… I’ll get in contact with you every twenty minutes.”

 

“Sir, yes, sir.” 

 

“Not funny, MacManus,” Rick muttered, before shaking his head as he tried to hide the smile which threatened to overcome him. “Hold down the fort while we’re out.”

 

“Aye, captain, my captain.”

 

“I think you’re in no condition to stand on any desks, are you Con?” Murphy said as he dropped an unrolled sleeping bag beside Connor and Carol, dropping himself over it a moment later. “With your fucking coordination you would end up face first on the ground.”

 

“Here,” Daryl said as he passed the keys to the suburban to Rick, not paying attention to the squabble between his siblings going on a few feet from them. “Be safe.”

 

“We’ll be back in no time.”

 

“We’ll be waiting for the news.”

 

Almost everyone was gathered around the fire as they watched the suburban drive away. There weren’t many things to be done after all, the campground was as safe as they could have made it since deciding to crash there the night before. They had learned to work with what they had.   

 

It didn’t take long for Rick to report in for the first time. As if that had been the switch they were all waiting for, activity around the camp resumed at once. Watch shifts were given, Daryl and Zach left to hunt for some food; another group left to refill their water supply from the nearby creek.

 

Carol waited patiently by the walkie - it wasn’t as if she could really do much either way- for Rick to report once more. Sighing in relief with every time she heard from Rick every twenty minutes.

 

She couldn’t say her heart didn’t break a little when Rick’s news about the settlement came through. Another dead end. 

 

Carol closed her eyes and allowed the sounds around the camp soothe her broken hopes. She wanted a safe place for Mika and Zach, she wanted a safe place for Judith and Carl. She had hoped for a place where her boys would get an actual night of sleep instead of not resting because they were worried about the safety of their family. 

 

They would just need to keep going.  

 

“Everything alright?” Daryl asked as he passed Zach their kills for the afternoon, leaving the young man to skin them, and sat himself on the ground by Carol. 

 

“The place was a bust,” Carol said softly, a sad smile on her face as she bumped her shoulder against Daryl’s. “Guess we won’t be getting that king sized bed any time soon then.”

 

Daryl just nodded, his fidgety hands seeking hers and entwining their fingers. She loved how they all seemed to need to be touching each other so much. Arms over their shoulders in half hugs, hands entwined like they never wanted to be parted, soft kisses like they might never get a chance to taste her lips again. She just loved them. 

 

“We’ll find something,” Daryl said softly, squinting at her as he turned his face and the sun hit him in the eyes. “If not, we can maybe pawn off one of those two brothers of mine, someone might be on the lookout for a mouthy son of a bitch and we might get lucky.”

 

“Oh, but if we keep that mouthy brother of yours, I will definitely get lucky.”

 

Carol laughed when she could see the tips of Daryl’s ears, barely peeking between his long messy hair, start to redden. 

 

“Stop.”

 

“Make me.” Daryl growled low in his chest as he saw the impish look in Carol’s eyes. A look she knew drove him mad. Daryl was starting to lean in, free hand having sneaked to rest against Carol’s neck when the walkie in her lap came to life.

 

“Carol!” Rick’s voice was filled with urgency. “We’re at the car. We need to cauterize the arm and wrap it.” Carol’s eyes were round as plates, as she pushed Daryl to stand and start getting things ready. “Get Sasha and the kids away, they don’t need to see this.”

 

With that last sentence she just knew. 

 

Tyreese. 

 

It was very bad. It didn’t take long for Rick to get back to them, back with a body instead of a gentle man.  

 

A grave was dug  

 

Sasha’s cries buried Maggie’s tears. 

 

They stood in a circle as they said goodbye to one of their own. Gabriel was talking, but Connor could only think about the people at his side.

 

Connor felt as his chest constricted with every sob torn from Mika’s little chest. The girl had her tiny arms around his neck as she burrowed her face in his shoulder. With their little girl in his arms, he watched on as Gabriel finished the improvised service; just before the grave started being filled one shovelful at a time. 

 

“Let it all out, princess,” Connor whispered as he hugged Mika close, moving from side to side softly as if soothing a baby. Carol gave him a teary eyed smile, as they watched Daryl move to help bury the man who had gone through so much with them. Now it was only Carol, Murphy, and Mika who were to carry the burden of what had happened with Lizzie. It was only on them to remember one of their darkest times.  

 

“Come on,” Carol said softly as she wiped a tear from her cheek, allowing Murphy to guide her with an arm around her waist back towards where their camp was. She looked at Sasha over her shoulder as they walked away, leaving the broken hearted sister to say goodbye to her brother in private. “We’re probably leaving soon.”

 

It wasn’t until nightfall when Carol finally allowed herself to break down in her husbands’ arms as she wept for their lost friend. Tyreese had been a sweet soul in the middle of an impossible world. They would never forget it was him who had saved Mika and Judith from the massacre that was the prison; without his bravery, their little girl - who had finally cried herself to sleep - wouldn’t be there with them. 

 

“Do you think we’ll ever find a place?” Murphy asked his brothers quietly once they finally heard Carol start snoring softly. “A safe place... for them?”

 

“I don’t know how much more she can handle,” Connor answered softly, as he caressed the back of Carol’s head from where she was lying over Daryl’s chest. “She just put up this front, but it’s...”

 

“Yeah.” Both Daryl and Murphy agreed to the unsaid statement. Carol was strong in the face of everything. She would put herself in the line of fire if it meant someone she loved was spared. But they all knew everyone had their limits. And they needed to find a place before she reached hers. 

 

“We will,” Daryl muttered against the crown of Carol’s hair as he closed his eyes, ready to doze as much as he could for the night. “We’ll make sure of that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know the drill... I love comments, even if they are gibberish, and I'm always at [ Tumblr](http://geektaire.tumbl.com) open to chatting with people. 
> 
> Love ya guys.


	7. Them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHO'S FINALLY BACK?!!!! 
> 
> ok... I can explain.... lol, no sorry... had a shite summer and couldn't get back in my groove until now, gonna be more diligent now, and gonna try to finish this before NANOWRIMO starts on november... k?
> 
> I love you and I missed you guys.

Chapter 7 - Them

 

They just couldn’t get a break. 

 

It hadn’t been even been two days since they had lost Tyreese, when it was first the suburban Abraham had taken to driving died on them. They were barely even able to fit into the van as it was, but to say it was tight with all of them in only two vehicles was an understatement. 

 

Daryl, who although was not as fidgety or uncomfortable with people touching him as he used to be, was on Carol duty. His job was to keep her as comfortable as he could, while having her sit on his lap. This worked in their favor in two ways, it kept Carol from being crushed by the overcrowding, and it kept Daryl’s temper from lashing out against their companions. 

 

But they were still together; they had enough water and food for a couple of days and Washington wasn’t that far out. Murphy and Connor continued to try keep their spirits up, playing with Mika and being as sweet as they could to Carol. But even they had their limits. 

By the third day they had lost the car. A herd had came out of nowhere, making it impossible for them to be able to take most of the things they had in the other car; as well as in their camp. 

 

The day after that, they finally ran out of gas. 

 

“This fucking blows,” Murphy muttered as he kicked a rock away. Daryl just glared at his brother. “It’s not like there’s actually any game I’m scaring away.”

 

Murphy’s statement did not help Daryl’s mood at all. They hadn’t had anything to eat in twenty four hours, all they had been able to save was being put away for Mika and Carl; they were keeping water apart for Judith’s bottle. His brother was correct though, it was like this part of the woods was as dead as the bastards that kept trying to eat them. 

 

“Shut the fuck up,” Daryl grunted as he shouldered his crossbow and continued walking further into the woods. Connor had been left behind with Zach to watch over their girls. His knee was almost good enough to run, but he wasn’t there yet. Murphy was being able to use his arm more and more each day, pain minimal. Daryl was glad, since he knew what the next step was going to be. 

 

They were going to have to make their way on foot. And with an injured wife, and a ten year old, it was going to be a long way. Carol’s hip was still bothersome sometimes, the bruise had left some markings behind, darkening of her skin, but it was no longer painful to touch. Her wrist was still in the cast they had put on while at Grady’s; but what was still very concerning was the pain she was in because of her ribs. 

 

She was barely able to take a deep breath, at almost three weeks from the accident, the ribs being just halfway through their healing process. The lack of proper nutrition wasn’t helping any, hence why Daryl was beyond frustrated at the lack of game. Every single growl of Mika and Carol’s stomachs sounded to him like they were screaming at him for his inability to provide for them, to care for them. 

 

“There’s fucking nothing here,” Murphy muttered, sitting against the trunk of a tree as he watched Daryl kneel on the earth and silently start to use his hands to dig a hole in the soil .  “What are you doing…”

 

Daryl didn’t answer, he didn’t even make as if he had heard his brother, he was sure he had seen something move there and he was set on finding it. It didn’t matter what it was, as long as it was something they could eat… it was good enough for him. 

 

He felt his stomach drop when he finally reached his goal, a fucking earth worm. He stilled for a moment, as he saw his brother move closer to him from the periphery … but he didn’t care. His mouth was watering, and his stomach grumbled as he opened his mouth and dropped the worm inside. 

 

It wasn’t until he had swallowed it that he turned to look at Murphy. At Murphy who looked both amazed and disgusted at the same time. 

 

“Do you want one?” Daryl asked, as he caught another one between his thumb and forefinger, lifting it from the ground for his brother to see. 

 

Murphy made a face, wincing as he took the squirmy thing from Daryl. With a look at his identical brother, and half closing his eyes Murphy threw the worm into his mouth swallowing it at once. 

 

He opened his eyes to look at Daryl intently. His brother was waiting for his reaction, and Murphy couldn’t help but give him a half wince-half smile which just made Daryl chuckle. 

 

“Slimy, yet satisfying.”

 

Murphy was sure Daryl’s laughter was loud enough to attract walkers. 

 

-.-.-

 

“I’m not sure it was such a good idea to let them go with them,” Carol murmured to Connor, as she played with his hand as they sat on the back of the van, watching and waiting. Connor had noticed how anxious Carol had been, not only because Daryl and Murphy had gone hunting, but because Maggie and Sasha had left with them. Knowing them, they were going to split up and she wasn’t completely sure the girls were focused enough to be out there. 

 

But Maggie had decided to go in a different group than Glenn, and Carol knew well how important it was for someone to make their own decisions. 

 

She and Connor had been left behind to look after their things, as well as the kids. She had tried to make it seem like nothing was wrong, and she would have probably gotten away with it… if it hadn’t been for her husbands and how good they were at reading her. 

 

“They wanted to go,” Connor said as he pressed his face against Carol’s hair, making her chuckle at his antics. “They might’ve needed a little time for themselves.”

 

“Yeah,” Carol sighed, sagging against Connor’s side. “I know the feeling.”

 

“Are you trying to tell me, my lady, that we’re annoying you so much you feel the need to tell us to fuck off?”

 

Carol just shook her head, moving so she could softly kiss Connor on the lips, before resting her head against his shoulder. “Never.”

 

“It’s going to be hard,” Connor said softly, as they watched Carl and Mika sit in the shade with Judith between them, trying to make her crawl towards them. “We still have a long way to go.”

 

“We’ll find a way, we always do.”

 

Connor couldn’t help but feel love for the woman next to him overwhelm him. There she was, one of the people who had lost the most throughout this thing, and she sounded sure and completely convinced they were going to get through it all. She had not only lost one child, but she had had to shoot another one to save the rest of their family. 

 

She had to go through being banished and thinking she was never going to see them again. And yet, she was pushing them forward keeping them from staying in the shadows of their past, of their losses. 

 

They stayed together, silently keeping each other in tranquility, as each member of their family started to come back. They were dragging their steps, so they knew no one had been successful. They would have to make it on foot, without water or food. 

 

They would have to survive. 

 

Carol’s heart broke as Daryl and Murphy, together with Sasha and Maggie, were the last ones to arrive. The look of defeat on her the set features of her husbands was more than she could take, so silently, she pushed herself off the van and walked straight into Daryl’s waiting arms. She felt as Murphy hugged her from behind, and between her boys she felt like nothing could touch her. 

 

She felt at peace. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Daryl whispered to her ear, as they heard Sasha and Maggie stagger past them. “I couldn't find anything, I-”

 

“I love you, Daryl Declan.” Those words seemed to shut him up, instead of saying anything which he knew he wouldn’t be able to anyway, Daryl burrowed his face against her neck and just breathed her in. She was his safe space, and as long as he was in her arms, nothing could harm him. In her arms there was no hunger or thirst, there was no pain or heartbreak. In her arms he was free. “We’ll make do.”

 

Daryl sighed, dropping a kiss on her neck, smiling softly as he felt her shudder in his arms. 

 

“Declan ate worms,” Murphy muttered only for their ears on Carol’s other side, trying to cover up how hard Daryl had punched him by coughing a little. 

 

“I’m not kissing you, either of you, any time soon,” Carol said, voice still light as she pushed away from the two, walking slowly back towards the rest of their group. 

 

“But why? If he was the one who did it!” Murphy called after her, trotting lightly to catch up with her. 

 

“Because I know you, Malachy… if he does something you’re never far behind…”

 

“And you love that, don’t you?” 

 

“Not really, especially when Connor has to step up to finish your job.”

 

Everyone looked bewildered as Murphy blushed bright red, as Carol solemnly reached Connor’s side. It wasn’t until Rick cleared his throat to get their attention that things seemed to calm down. The wicked smile on Carol’s face took a few miles to disappear. 

 

-.-.-

 

It wasn’t like their spirits died in just the first few miles. It was gradually, as they became more aware of the fatigue and hunger afflicting all of them. The few chuckles and laughs were the first to go, being silenced after the first couple of miles. 

 

They were followed by the chit chat, and any conversation other than grunts and barked orders to not linger for long whenever they decided for a short break. Night was coming and they needed to find some kind of shelter if they didn’t want to spend the night on the side of the road. 

 

Zach was carrying Mika in a piggy ride, while Murphy kept on trying to pretend he wasn’t mother henning the fuck out of Connor and Carol. Daryl, after Carol had given him a look, was walking just a little further ahead, bow at the ready in case something caught up with them.

 

Cause at this moment, he wasn’t even thinking about the possibility of there being food, other than the one the walkers wanted to make out of them. It did have him nervous, the fact that slowly but surely, walkers had started to follow them. 

 

“We’re not at our strongest,” Rick said as he looked back as well towards the following walkers, “we’ll get them when we’re on high ground or something.”

 

Daryl just huffed, rolling his eyes at Carol as she gave him a knowing look before he turned back and continued on. 

 

“She’s looking stronger,” Rick murmured as he moved to walked closer to Daryl, Judith fussing slightly in discomfort. Daryl just grunted in answer. He wasn’t sure if Rick was talking about Carol or Mika, but both of them were doing better than a couple of weeks ago. 

 

“It’s been almost three weeks since Atlanta…” Rick continued talking as if Daryl was actually participating. “I know you guys found something there, and I’m really glad you did.”

 

“We need to find water and food, that’s what we need.”

 

“We will, on the road.” Daryl was trying not to pass his foul mood around, but Rick being optimistic was rubbing on him the wrong way. “It will rain, eventually.”

 

Daryl just huffed, trying not to let Judith’s whimpers of hunger make his heart hurt. “I’m gonna head out,” Daryl said, turning to look at his brothers and Carol. “See if I can find us some water, and some food.”

 

Connor and Murphy looked at each other, as if asking which of them were going to go with him. Daryl just rolled his eyes, before giving his extra rifle to Rick and starting to head out. 

 

“I’ll go with you.” Carol’s voice was the one thing which made Daryl stop and look back. “Someone needs to watch your back.”

 

“I’m good, woman,” Daryl grumbled, but opened his arm to put his hand softly on the small of her back as she reached him. 

 

“Well, I like watching it anyway. You’ve got a cute butt.”

 

“Stop.”

 

They hadn’t waited to hear anyone’s comments, before the two of them were slowly and quietly making their way through the woods. 

 

Connor smiled softly behind the beard he was sporting, good enough to compete with Rick’s, as he and Murphy started to walk side by side once again. 

 

“It’s good for them, for him,” Murphy said softly. “She will calm him down; even I was getting all broody by association.”

 

“Fucking monozygotic bull if you ask me,” Connor muttered, huffing when Murphy elbowed him hard enough for it to hurt. “I just say it as it is.”

 

“Fucker.”

 

“She’s going to start talking like you two soon, and Carol is going to kill you.” Both Connor and Murphy smiled softly as Michonne joined the conversation. “When Mika starts calling Rick an asshole, I’m not staying quiet.”

 

“If he’s being one… I’m not going to reprimand her for it.”

 

“And he’s one a lot of the times?” Michonne asked, chuckling as she saw the answer on the brothers’ face. “You’re terrible.”

 

“Well, you still love us…”

 

“God knows why.”

 

Their good moods lasted for less than two hundred yards. They all could feel the fighting brewing, Maggie was pissed, Sasha was pissed… and they were all hungry, a very bad combination. But as Rick reminded them they were not in a position to fight the fifteen or so walkers which had started following them, the brothers knew it wasn’t going to be long before someone snapped. 

 

They weren’t going to bet on it, but in their quiet talks, they both agreed it was probably going to be Sasha. The young woman, unlike Maggie with Glenn, had nothing left to fight for. And everyone knew that what kept people alive these days, was a reason to continue fighting. 

 

“We’re fucking lucky,” Connor said softly to himself as he softly ran a hand over Mika’s head, the girl giving him a tired smile in return. “So fucking lucky.”

 

They had so much to fight for, they were not giving up any time soon. 

 

-.-.

 

“Anything?” Carol asked softly, as she watched Daryl move a few paces ahead, hand reaching out to touch the dry high grass. 

 

“It’s too dry, there’s nothing here.”

 

Carol’s heart ached as she heard the underlying self hate in his voice. The two of them had walked away from the road, and roamed those woods in comfortable silence for a couple of hours now, and she had allowed it. She had allowed her husband to brood and to wallow in his self made misery - like they didn’t have enough already without him inventing his own -  for too long. 

 

“Maybe we should start back,” Carol said softly as she approached Daryl; he just shook his head looking away from her. 

 

“You go.”

 

“Daryl … “

 

At the sound of his name, Daryl stopped and waited until she reached him. He couldn’t help but tense as he felt her hand softly caress his arm, before it trailed up his shoulder and neck until she laid her palm against his cheek, forcing him gently to turn and look at her. 

 

“We’re alive, we’re together, we’re good.”

 

“You’re hungry,” Daryl murmured, as he closed his eyes turning softly to kiss her wrist. “I can hear your stomach growling at me.”

 

“Not at you,  _ with  _ you … “

 

Daryl couldn’t help but chuckle at her bad joke, sighing as he felt her body pressed tightly to his, her free arm around his waist. 

 

“It’s not your fault.” Daryl wasn’t even surprised in the slightest that she knew what he was thinking; his wife knew them better than they probably knew themselves. “We’re all in this together, we’ll get through this just like we got through everything else.”

 

“I hate when you’re in pain,” Daryl murmured as he finally allowed himself to return her affection, his arm which was not carrying his crossbow draping itself loosely over her waist as he felt her burrow her face in his neck. “I hate to hear Mika’s belly grumbling.”

 

“We know you’re doing the best you can, Pookie.” Daryl just allowed her words to wash over him, her bulky cast caressing his back as softly as she was able to. “We love you, I love you, and I hate seeing you do this to yourself.”

 

“Not doing anything,” Daryl grumbled, chuckling when he felt her poking at his side softly. “I just don’t feel like talking … too many people around all the time.”

 

“Well … “ Carol smiled as she pushed back, only to see Daryl’s frowning face, “it’s just us right now; you kind of scared anyone else from offering to join us, Papa bear.”

 

Daryl just chuckled, rolling his eyes. “I’m not scary.”

 

“You’re just pure sugar, aren’t you?”

 

“I am for you, aren’t I?” Carol couldn’t help but grin as she watched Daryl’s lips twitch as if he was trying to keep himself from smiling at the absurdity of his own words. 

 

“You are the sweetest … ” Carol said softly as she started to push Daryl back, following him close as he allowed her to move her wherever she wanted him to go. “Most grumpy man in the whole world, and I love you for it.”

 

Daryl just shook his head, a slight smile appearing on his face as if he was just accepting those words to indulge his wife. Carol just smirked when he huffed as she pushed his back against a tree. 

 

“I would show you how sweet you are, I really would,” Carol whispered to Daryl as she pressed herself to his front once again, her nose skimming the skin of his neck as she dropped small kisses in between words, “but sadly last time we took time to clean ourselves up, was like a week ago.” Daryl grunted when her wandering hands found his cock through his pants, “And as much as I love you, and this … “ Carol smirked against Daryl’s neck as she heard him whimper, squeezing him before she started working on the button of his pants, “I’m so not risking it out here.”

 

“Thought you said you couldn’t get pregnant,” Daryl whispered breathily as Carol pushed his pants and underwear down just enough to free his hard on, her hand immediately starting to stroke him softly. 

 

“That’s not the only thing I could catch from this.” Daryl didn’t seem to hear her, moaning as she twisted her hand the way she knew he loved, followed by a whimper as she continued to suck on his neck. 

 

“I’m clean,” Daryl whispered as he moved so he could capture her lips in a kiss, his breathing fast as her hand brought him to the brink of his orgasm. “You’re the only one-”

 

“You haven’t showered in over a week,” Carol interrupted him, biting on his lower lip as she felt him close to completion in her hand. “But it’s okay, my brave sweetheart, you can come.”

 

And as if that was what Daryl was waiting for, with a grunt his orgasm took him over. Carol couldn’t help but pull him close, shushing him as he shuddered in her arms. “I love you, so much.”

 

Daryl just sighed, his arms wrapped around her waist, his crossbow forgotten on the ground by their feet. Carol couldn’t help but just melt into his arms as she started feeling him lazily kiss his way from where her shoulder and neck met, all the way to her lips. 

 

“I love you.”

 

Didn’t matter how many times he had said it since they met again after Terminus, her heart still reacted the same way as when she had first heard him. Her sweet boy loved her, and that was all that mattered. 

 

“What do you mean about catching something from me?” Daryl asked softly once he had pulled himself together, and they were on their way back towards the rest of their group, hand in hand. “You know I never-”

 

“Oh, Pookie, it’s not that ... if there were only enough cranberry pills left in this world.”

 

“Wait… what?”

 

-..-.-.-.-

 

“You think this will work?” Murphy whispered to his brother as they stood side by side behind Glenn at the bridge waiting for the walkers to catch up with them. 

 

“To be honest, is less crazy than some of the stuff we actually pulled off.”

 

“That’s in fact true,” Murphy answered, smiling slightly as he caught Glenn’s look of wonder as the younger man looked over at them, having obviously heard what they had said. “Don’t worry about it lad, we’ll tell you everything about our adventures over the campfire sometime.”

 

“Like if we were in fucking camp.”

 

Glenn couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head as he turned forwards again. Rick chose that moment to look back at them, giving them a serious nod, which they returned. 

 

“If you get yourself bit, I’ll kill you.”

 

“It’s not fucking funny, Connor!”

 

Rick shut them up with an annoyed look, just as the first walker reached him. 

 

After that it was quite easy to do as their leader had planned, just a little push and the walkers went tumbling down the side of the road and into the dry creek under the bridge. It was going  _ too  _ well, if what they had learned from this world was anything to go by. 

 

Sasha, just as her brother had done before her, allowed her anger to cloud her judgement. But unlike what had happened to Tyreese, who had only gotten himself in a bad situation, when Sasha started hacking at the walkers it put them all in danger. 

 

“Calm the fuck down, Malachy,” Connor hissed at his brother once the walkers were dead, and Michonne was chastising Sasha for being careless. “She just lost her last family on this earth.”

 

“I just don’t want her stupidity to cause me to lose mine,” Murphy sneered as he pushed away and moved to join Daryl and Carol who had gotten back from their little trekking adventure. 

 

“Did you get any?”

 

Even if they hadn’t eventually seen the hickey on Daryl’s neck, his brother blushing madly and the smirk on Carol’s face was answer enough. The opportunity to tease the youngest triplet was such, that even Murphy who had asked the question and was in such a foul mood couldn’t help but burst out laughing. 

 

“I was talking about water, Declan… what were  _ you  _ thinking?” 

 

Murphy continued to laugh even after Daryl had slapped him behind the head hard enough for it to actually hurt. 

 

“How the hell can they still be laughing?” Rosita asked Tara, as they watched the brothers trail after their woman towards their kids. “Are they fucking high?”

 

Glenn laughed as he too, stood and watched as Daryl growled and punched Connor on the arm, with all three of them looking as innocent as they were able to when Carol turned towards them. “That’s just them, you should have met Daryl before he found them …”

 

“That bad?” Tara asked, as they all started their shuffling towards the unknown. 

 

Glenn just chuckled. “Worse.”

 

-.-.-.-

 

The silence had the capacity to stun all of them. Even Mika and Judith eventually succumbed to it’s call.  So they walked, and they let their thoughts run … and they thirsted and hungered. 

 

Daryl seemed a little lighter, Connor could tell, as his brother went from walking by Carol, to covering their backs. His fidgety nature had calmed down some, and Connor liked to think it had something to do with them, but he was still restless especially when he was worried. And they were all worried. 

 

They all stopped for a moment as Carl pointed out a collection of vehicles ahead. 

 

“I’m going to go and look around them woods,” Daryl grumbled to Zach. His eyes looking everywhere but at the cars ahead. “Don’t let Carol out of your sight,” Daryl murmured to Connor, patting his shoulder before he disappeared between the tall grass. 

 

Connor instantly knew what that car pile up had brought to Daryl’s mind, since he had thought the exact same thing he probably had. 

 

Sophia.

 

“Hey,” Connor said softly as he took the few steps separating him from where Carol was standing, her hand on Mika’s shoulder as she looked at the cars ahead. She was looking at them, but she was seeing a different pile up. One which had happened on a highway in Georgia, instead of a back road in Virginia. 

 

Carol seemed to snap out of her reverie as she heard Connor’s voice, looking surprised that he was there. “Daryl went to look into the woods, what do you say we sit this one out so you can rest those ribs of yours?”

 

Carol gave Connor a look, letting him know he was not fooling anyone. 

 

“Come on, love,” Connor said, amping up the charm. “My leg’s killing me, and I don’t want to look like a twat by being the only one to sit this one out.”

 

Carol just shook her head, a small smile on her face, but gratitude in her eyes as she took his hand in hers and moved them towards the side. Rick just gave her a sad nod, understanding the need for her to separate herself from the task. 

 

“How’s Daryl?” Carol asked softly, as she watched Murphy and Zach come closer to them, Snake on their heels. 

 

“Grumpy, even after you-,” Connor groaned as Carol elbowed him just as he had sat by her side, wincing as he felt his knee throb, “he’ll be back soon.”

 

“Please be careful?” Carol asked Murphy softly, grabbing his hand in hers quickly as he dropped their backpack next to her. 

 

“Always,” Murphy said, winking at Mika, before moving together with Zach towards the cars. 

 

“I’ve got you,” Connor whispered softly to Carol as he pulled her to lay against him, dropping a kiss over her shoulder, “I’ve got you.”

 

-.-.-.-

 

Daryl was beyond pissed. 

 

He was mad at himself, he was mad at the stupid dead buck, he was mad at the fucker who had shot the buck only to apparently die shortly after… he was mad at the fucking universe. 

 

But mostly, he was mad at his inability to stay at Carol’s side as they had approached the pile up. The moment he saw the cars, he knew he needed to get out of there. He couldn’t face it, couldn’t face  _ her _ . As much as she had told him more than once that she didn’t blame him for not finding Sophia, he still blamed himself. He blamed himself for not having run behind Rick immediately after they had told him what had happened, he blamed himself on not having been able to find her trail sooner… maybe even if she had already been bitten she wouldn’t have died on her own; maybe Carol would have been able to say goodbye … maybe Carol wouldn’t have seen her only daughter turned into one of those monsters. 

 

Daryl sighed as he crouched down and rested his back against a tree. He was lucky his brothers had decided to stay back, they hadn’t left him alone at all since Atlanta. He loved them dearly, but he was glad they weren’t there right then. As Connor had said, Sophia was his. It was his burden to carry, and his pain to endure. 

 

He didn’t know how long he actually took to get off his crouching position, but he did notice how damp his cheeks were when he did. He didn’t bother to go back to where he had left them, knowing by the position of the sun that it had been a while since he had left them behind.

 

And Daryl couldn’t help but feel a pang in his heart when he found them sitting dejectedly on the side of the road a few miles ahead. His eyes found Carol’s first, and the sad smile she gave him just unarmed him. 

 

In her eyes he saw her understanding, she was saying she got it without having to say anything. Silently he made his way to her, pushing Murphy on the shoulder until he moved allowing him to sit in between his brother and his wife. Her head immediately moved to rest on his shoulder, and he just couldn’t help but rest his against hers.

 

Sometimes he wondered when he had decided not to give a fuck about being openly affectionate with his people, something which would have been met with mockery and pain before  _ them _ . With a sigh, Daryl closed his eyes, allowing the feeling of having his wife and siblings around him lull him into a sense of calm. 

 

He could hear them talking around them, but he just zoned them out. He just focused on the smell of Carol, the feeling of Murphy by his side, the thump of Snake’s tail as Mika petted him.

 

It was those sounds that alerted him of the upcoming danger. 

 

Daryl’s eyes snapped open when suddenly Snake got to his feet, standing low in front of Mika and growling. Daryl and his brothers unsheathed their knives, ready for anything. 

 

And anything included a pack of wild dogs appearing from between the bushes. Daryl looked at Snake, seeing the dog’s hair rise as his growling intensified. He also noticed Zach moving Mika behind him, as he slowly started moving his rifle - one of the few which still had ammo - up. 

 

The dogs had now zoned onto Snake, as the mangy one eyed dog moved in front of them, barking threateningly. Daryl had to give it to the mutt, he was bravely stupid. Fitting quite well with the rest of the family, if he was honest. 

 

Snake moved back on his haunches, ready to jump and attack the strange and unfriendly dogs, when a succession of shots made everyone jump. Each dog dropped, one shot each right in the head. 

 

“Remind me never to get on her bad side,” Murphy muttered as he sat back down. Daryl just nodded, walking on his knees a little to grab Snake by the neck and bringing him back towards them, just in case Sasha was still trigger happy. 

 

Rick stood up, moving towards the trees and taking some dry sticks, making it clear their food problem was over.

 

“Better get the fire ready, gonna have a feast tonight.” Daryl just shook his head as he got on his feet to help Rick, still chuckling at his brother’s words. But he was right, there was enough for all of them, the dogs were kind of skinny but still there was enough of them to feed them well. 

 

“You better take charge of skinning them, sweetheart,” Carol said softly, as he passed her some more dry leaves. “I doubt anyone else knows how.”

 

It didn’t take long before the first of the dog was over the fire, and the smell was making everyone’s mouth water. 

 

“You know,” Connor said as he blew the piece of meat skewered on a stick trying to cool it a little before passing it to Mika. “There are cultures in the east that eat dogs like a delicacy.”

 

Mika’s eyes shot to Snake, who was biting on one of the now meatless bones that Daryl had thrown him from one of the first dogs he skinned. 

 

“Snake knows we got to eat, princess,” Murphy said softly, taking the stick from Connor’s hand biting at the meat a little. “Hmmmm nice.”

 

Carol hid her smile as she watched her husbands convince their daughter to eat what seemed like the uneatable before. She knew Mika would eat, she was smart like that, but there was that weird feeling mostly because of their one eyed companion. 

 

“Here,” Zach passed Carol one of the next pieces which were cooked, “you need to eat.”

 

“Attaboy.” 

 

There were snorts of laughter from everyone as Murphy and Daryl spoke at the same time. Connor grinned as he watched their spirits return, with every bite they each took. 

 

They were going to be alright. 

 

-.-.

 

It was hard, for everyone, to get up the next morning and continue on their path. The speed they were moving with wasn’t much, and that meant they still had a long way to go. The food and fluids they had been able to get from the meat from the night before had started to deplete once more. It was true they had been able to get some sleep, with full bellies and without thirst for once in a few days … but as the sun hit them, they were back to square one. 

 

“Daryl,” Glenn said softly as he put his water bottle out, offering it to him without needing to say anything else. 

 

“No, thank you,” Daryl murmured as he silently continued to walk beside Connor. His brother instead took the offered bottle from Glenn, taking a sip before pushing it to Daryl’s chest. 

 

“Drink.”

 

“No,” Daryl growled back, pushing his brother’s hand away, but being careful of not spilling any of the remaining water. “I’m good.”

 

“Why do you have to be so fucking stubborn?”

 

“Why do you have to be such a nag?”

 

Connor huffed, closing the bottle and giving it back to Glenn. “He’ll fucking listen when he fucking drops.”

 

“Daryl,” Glenn said softly, giving Connor a look before going back to the archer, “we can make it, together … but only if we stay together.”

 

Daryl huffed, rolling his eyes before turning to Abraham instead. “Let them know I went looking for water.” And without waiting to hear from anyone, he made a beeline towards the woods, leaving a dumbfounded Connor behind. 

 

“Oh no, he won’t …” Connor muttered to himself, before looking quickly at a concerned Glenn. “Tell Carol I went with him, we’ll catch up shortly.”

 

“Connor!” Glenn whispered-yelled as he saw the oldest MacManus disappear following his brother. “Carol is going to kill me if something happens to them.”

 

“That lady has more balls than anyone I’ve ever met,” Abraham declared loudly, making Glenn groan. 

 

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

 

-.-.-

 

“Are you going to fucking run? Or are you fucking going to talk to me?” Connor said loudly, after trotting behind Daryl through the woods for at least fifteen minutes. 

 

“Ain’t running, I’m looking for water.”

 

“Bullshit!” Connor yelled as he finally made his way to Daryl’s side, feeling his brother tense completely when he put his hand on his chest to stop him. “I fucking thought Carol making you cum would have gotten the stick out of your fucking arse!”

 

Daryl just huffed, pushing past his brother and pissing Connor off even more with his nonchalant attitude. 

 

“Come on, Decks…” The slight pleading in his brother’s voice did make Daryl stop at once, “we just don’t want to lose you too.”

 

“You haven’t,” Daryl whispered before he started walking again. 

 

“I’m not so sure of that,” Connor said to himself softly as he watched his brother march away. 

 

Daryl couldn’t shake off the thoughts running through his brain. He knew they were stupid, that his family would never think him a failure - after all, hadn’t Carol basically said the same thing to him the day before - but the weight on his shoulders just wouldn’t let up.  He sighed, feeling his stomach drop as he walked through the trees to a clearing, without finding any water. 

 

He silently moved to sit with his back against a tree, looking at the old shack in the middle of the woods with disdain as he felt his brother sit beside him. Close enough that he could very well feel his presence, but not close enough to touch. 

 

Daryl didn’t want to accept it, but it hurt. It hurt that his brother was, as minimal as it was, staying away from him; shying away from touching him. And it wasn’t anyone’s fault but his; he knew that. He had been an asshole to all of them for the last couple of days, but he just couldn’t shake the desperation he was feeling. He needed to provide for them, he needed to take care of them … because if he didn’t, what was his use in their relationship?

 

“Here,” Connor muttered, passing him a lit cigarette after he had taken a puff himself. 

 

Daryl just grunted in answer, taking the cigarette from his brother’s hand, taking a puff and then looking at the lit tip as he rested his hands on his knees. It would be just so easy to use that to try and confuse his brain, pain was pain in the end, wasn’t it?

 

He didn’t even get to start to move his hand towards the other one, when Connor was already taking the cigarette from his hand. 

 

“You’re not the only one who’s observant, baby brother,” Connor whispered softly as he pushed his shoulder against Daryl’s. 

 

“Annoying prick.”

 

“Stubborn wanker.”

 

Daryl chuckled humorlessly, feeling like he was able to breathe as Connor put his arm around his shoulders, pulling him close. It seemed stupid, for a forty something year old man to feel comforted by the hug from his slightly older brother … but he was. 

 

“My head …” Daryl started speaking, his voice gruff as if he was trying to keep himself from crying, “I know that you guys love me, I know that.”

 

“We sure do,” Connor muttered softly, kissing the top of Daryl’s head when his little brother allowed himself the comfort of his embrace and put his head on his shoulder. 

 

“But my head doesn’t, and I just get this feeling that …” Daryl was unable to finish the sentence, his inability to put his thoughts into words frustrating him beyond his imagination. 

 

“We love you,” Connor said, his voice unwavering, “we will always love you, whether you get us food and water, or not… you’re stuck with us.”

 

“I know, I’m just not right in the head,” Daryl said softly, and Connor couldn’t help but hug his brother closer. 

 

“Have you met Murphy? You’re definitely not the only one dropped on their head at birth.” Connor smiled as he felt Daryl chuckle, before he moved away from the embrace and pushed him away playfully. “But seriously,” Connor said as he grabbed onto Daryl’s shoulder to peer at his brother’s eyes, “we’re all messed up, but that doesn’t mean we love each other any less.”

 

Daryl just nodded, looking at the sky to try and avoid crying yet again. He had his family, he had their love … he just needed for the voices inside his head to shut up and let him rely on them as they did on him. 

 

“I’m surprised we’re not even more messed up,” Connor said after a few minutes. “We have certainly been through a fuckton.”

 

Daryl snorted. “A fuckton?”

 

“I might have been spending too much time with Tara and Zach.”

 

“ You think?”

 

-.-.-

 

“Don’t worry so much love,” Murphy said softly as he put his arm around Carol’s waist, feeling his heart clench as she still tensed in pain at the slight pressure. “They’re too hard headed to die.”

 

Carol laughed softly, her gait still struggling once or twice. She was better, but bones didn’t heal like magic; she was probably halfway through her recuperation. Her ribs were the ones that were causing her the most issues, her arm almost good to get off that cast by now … but those damned ribs. 

 

“They wouldn’t leave me to have all the fun,” Murphy whispered into Carol’s ear, causing her to giggle softly as he rubbed his intent of a beard against the side of her face. “They’re selfish bastards.”

 

“Stop it,” Carol said softly, not really mad as she scolded at the middle MacManus. “Don’t call yourselves that.”

 

“We are what we are, love,” Murphy said, a sad smile on his face. 

 

“You’re everything to me.”

 

“Carol …”

 

“What is that?” Tara’s voice brought them out of the moment they had found themselves in, Carol immediately pushing Mika behind her while Murphy pulled his knife out of the scabbard. The two of them sighed as they noticed what the young woman was talking about. 

 

“It’s water,” Zach said softly as he moved back from where he had been walking by Carl and Judith to Carol’s side. “They left some water for us out there.”

 

“But who?”

 

“A friend … “ Rick said as they finally approached where the rest of the group was standing around gallons of bottled water. Carol could just feel as her parched mouth didn’t even water at such beautiful sight. 

 

“Should we use it?” Carl asked, looking at his father as the fourteen year old he was. 

 

“No,” Rick growled glaring at the rest of the their family, as if daring them to contradict him. 

 

“We’re dying, Rick,” Carol said softly, looking at the water before looking at Mika whose cheeks looked slightly sunken in, something she did not like at all. “We need it.”

 

“No.”

 

“It’s imperative that we keep hydrated,” Eugene added. “If we don’t, we will perish before we even get close to our end goal.”

 

“No.” 

 

Murphy grinded his teeth, trying to keep his mouth closed at the tone Rick was using on the rest of them. He understood the need to be careful, but there were moments where they needed to accept help from others. Their people were dehydrated, they were easy prey… water was just as important as ammo right then. 

 

The rustling of the vegetations behind them made everyone tense up, weapons at the ready, just as Connor and Daryl walked out of the woods. 

 

Carol felt as the tight sensation she had in her chest since Glenn had told them her two boys had gone in search of water, dissipated as Connor gave her a little smile. Rick immediately showed the paper with the note to Daryl, and Carol saw as her husband tensed and brought his crossbow up looking warily around him. 

 

“What should we do?” Tara asked, looking from Michonne to Carol; before her eyes strayed to the irate looking Rick. 

 

“Not this,” Rick said between gritted teeth.

 

“We need to drink, maybe we should check the seals? They look new?” Connor said, meeting Glenn’s eyes as he reached Carol’s side. 

 

“No.” Carol couldn’t help but roll her eyes, as she rested her weight against Connor as he put his arms around her waist from behind. “We don’t know who left them.”

 

“If it’s a trap, we’re already in it.” Connor smirked as he saw Eugene’s intentions on his face, before he reached for one of the bottles. “But I would like to think it is coming from a friend.” 

 

Murphy scoffed as Abraham furiously snatched the bottle from Eugene’s grasp. “Leave him be, I reckon we could have him try it and wait a few hours … if he’s good, then we’re good to go.”

 

“We can’t.”

 

“We’ll die, without water,” Daryl said softly, his deep voice getting the attention he wasn’t seeking. “We didn’t find any.”

 

Rick looked like he had been slapped, looking for once uncertain if he was taking the best course of action. He looked from Daryl, to Carol and then to Michonne, opening his mouth to speak when thunder was heard overheard. 

 

As if that had been what God had been waiting for, seconds later cold clean water started to pour from the sky onto them. The expression of incredulity on Carol’s face made her husbands break into grins themselves. 

 

Laughter came upon them, as Murphy grabbed Mika by her small waist, twirling her around as refreshing rain fell upon them. 

 

Carol shared a laugh with Michonne before Daryl reached her side, pulling her into his arms softly and giving her a wet hug. She felt as they both threw their heads back, opening their mouths, as what was left of the tension in his body gave way. 

 

Connor and Carol shared a look, and she sighed as she felt  Daryl nuzzle the side of her neck. Mika’s squeals of laughter as Murphy continued to twirl her just brought a grin to all of their faces. 

 

Broken only by the sound of wind and thunder approaching them fast. 

 

“I know a place!” Daryl yelled over the sound of the rain as Rick prompted them to continue on their way. “We found a barn!”

 

Connor clasped Daryl on the shoulder as they all started moving to follow them through the woods. Something good after all had come out of their little trip, something more than helping his baby brother with his mental health. 

 

They walked silently through the woods, the sound of rain hitting the vegetation around them loud enough that there was no reason for them to actually speak. The sight of the barn ahead, after almost a mile of hiking, was balm to their weary souls. 

 

Daryl signaled his brothers and Zach, as they entered the barn behind Rick, leaving Carol behind looking after a shivering Mika. Daryl winked at the little girl, smiling slightly when she returned the gesture with a small smile. 

 

Carol smiled at the small touches her boys gave her as they passed her before going into the barn. She wanted to be at their side, watching their back, but she was highly aware of the need to look after their little girl. Their sweet little girl who needed her to protect her. 

 

And she was not going to fail her little girls for the second time. 

 

Mika hugged herself closer to Carol as she watched Zach and Glenn drag out the sole walker they had found inside. And as soon as Connor approached the door, Carol knew it was safe for them to enter. 

 

It took them no time, before they had scattered around the inside of the barn, using what little they all could find to get as comfortable as possible. There was no privacy on the road, but they all tried to do with what they had. 

 

Carol found herself by the meager fire they had been able to light, her back to Connor’s chest, as Daryl laid on the ground with his wet head on her lap. Her good hand softly running through his matted hair as his gaze got lost amongst the flames. 

 

Mika had fallen asleep quickly, cuddled with Carl and Judith for warmth. Carol smiled, sighing into Connor’s skin as she watched them. They were their precious kids, and they would do anything in their power to allow them those moments of peace. 

 

“You know,” Rick said softly following her gaze, “I used to feel sorry for the kids who have to grow up now, in this ... “ Rick looked from their kids, back to Carol to meet Daryl’s eyes. “But I think I got it wrong.”

 

“They’re very resilient; Mika has shown us that and more,” Murphy said, his hand sneaking to entwine his fingers with Carol’s on her casted hand. 

 

“And that’s just part of growing up,” Rick said softly as he too got lost in the flames, “it’s getting used to the world around you, and this is our world now.”

 

“This isn’t the world,” Michonne said, desperation palpable in her voice. “This isn’t it.”

 

Carol followed Glenn’s sad gaze as he looked at the other side of the barn, where Maggie lay  lost in the shadows. “It might be.”

 

“If it is, it is,” Daryl’s deep voice made Carol smile, as he looked away from the flames to her. “We do the best we can, in the world we have.”

 

“That’s giving up,” Michonne said, her voice strong and defiant.

 

“That’s reality.”

 

“Until we see otherwise …” Rick’s eyes met Michonne’s in the dark, “this is what we have to live with.”

 

Carol felt Connor scoff against her back, and she just closed her eyes and sighed, feeling the comfort of her boys surrounding her. 

 

“When I was a kid... I asked my grandpa once if he ever killed any Germans in the war.” Rick’s eyes moved over all of his rapt audience. “He wouldn't answer. He said that was grown-up stuff, so... so I asked if the Germans ever tried to kill him. But he got real quiet. He said he was dead the minute he stepped into enemy territory. Every day he woke up and told himself, "Rest in peace. Now get up and go to war. And then after a few years of pretending he was dead... he made it out alive.” Carol felt as Daryl tensed up, her hand softly trying to help him relax as his eyes met Rick’s across the flames. “That's the trick of it, I think. We do what we need to do and then we get to live. But no matter what we find in DC, I know we'll be okay. Because this is how we survive. We tell ourselves... that  _ we  _ are the walking dead.”

 

“We ain’t them,” Daryl said softly, as he moved so he was resting on his back looking up towards Carol. 

 

“We’re not them, we’re not.”

 

“I think you all misinterpreted what my brother said from the beginning,” Connor interjected before Rick went to push his little brother more. “We live with what we have, and sometimes from fucked up situations … good things come along.”

 

“We just have to live the life we get, can’t forget that.” Carol smiled softly at Daryl, as she felt Connor drop a kiss to the side of her head. 

 

“It’s hard, and it will hurt,” Michonne added, looking tenderly at the picture the four of them made. “But we can’t become the walking dead, we just can’t.”

 

“Dale used to say something like that,” Daryl added, turning his head softly and dropping a kiss onto Carol’s wrist as she passed it close to his mouth while continuing her tender ministrations. “We can’t give up our humanity; that’s what makes us … us.”

 

“I miss Dale,” Glenn said softly, chuckling as he rubbed on his chest as if that would make the pain go away. 

 

“I miss Andrea,” Michonne added, sharing a sad smile with Glenn. 

 

“Lori and Sophia,” Carol murmured, her eyes meeting Rick’s across the fire, sharing a small sad smile. 

 

“T-dog.” Carol looked a little bit surprised at Murphy as he mentioned her friend’s name. “Without him, we wouldn’t have had you with us still, love.” Was all the explanation Carol needed. 

 

“Hershel and Beth,” Rick finally added. Silence fell upon them afterwards; they had lost so many people in such a short space of time. But they all knew they had to go on, for them; for their sacrifices was what had brought them to this place now. 

 

“For them,” Carol said as she looked at Rick. “For them, we live.”

-.-.-.

 

The sound of the wind rustling the doors of the barn had Daryl on edge. The whole storm had him on edge. This wasn’t Georgia, where he knew the patterns of their storms and what to do to avoid them; he didn’t know what the sounds of the woods meant here, and he hated it. 

 

It hadn’t taken long after their talk for Carol and Connor to drift off, snuggled together for warmth. He and Murphy had kept the other two between them, but he just couldn’t stay still, and before long he had gotten up, grabbed his crossbow, and moved to stand guard near enough that he could potentially hear if something was coming down; but far enough he was staying dry and warm. 

 

Murphy had followed him, right on his heels. Silent, for once, his brother rested against a pillar, watching over him as he walked back and forth in front of the doors. His identical brother knew better than to try to get him to stop, the excess of nervous energy was something he was quite used to … and they really didn’t want to end up fighting because that usually got Carol up faster than them yelling ‘walker!’.    
  


The rain and wind was making the doors try to slam open, tensing the chains they had used to close them to their extreme. With a grunt, Daryl moved to pull them close, and it was then when he felt his blood turn into ice in his veins. 

 

“Murphy!” Daryl barked as he slammed his back against the doors, barely able to keep the first walker from slithering its disgusting fingers between them. His brother slammed his uninjured shoulder next to him, pushing with all his might to keep the doors closed as they felt both the strength of the wind and that of the walkers slam against them. 

 

It seemed like their actions didn’t go unnoticed by the rest, and one by one the rest of their family moved to help them. One by one they joined in, helping each other into becoming an unmovable wall against the walkers and the outside. Against the adversities that were trying to bring them down. 

 

It took minutes which seemed like years for the walkers to stop pushing against the door, and for the rain and wind to do the same. And it took even longer for them to be able to lower their defenses and allow themselves to rest up. 

 

It was already dawn by the time Daryl allowed himself some respite. He had stayed awake, with Carol draped over his legs as he played with her short hair and his brothers asleep on either  side of him, watching over all of them. Maggie finally released him of his duty with a sad nod as he passed her the now clean music box Carl had asked him to try and fix for her. 

 

Daryl watched as Maggie got Sasha up, feeling his eyelids start to droop as he saw them tentatively leave the barn. If they were getting out, it  meant the threat was over for the time being. He could rest for a moment. 

 

_ They  _ could rest for a moment. 


	8. The Distance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOOK AT THIS, A NEW CHAPTER! TWICE IN ONE MONTH.... ok... so it would have been ready last week, but my country was hit by an earthquake and although my zone of Mexico was safe, it was still unsettling for everyone living here. My thoughts and prayers are with the people that lost both persons they loved and their things, and hopefully we as a society will be able to help the get through this. 
> 
> Hope you guys like this, and please leave me a sign that you guys are still reading and I'm not just yelling at the void.

**Chapter VII**

**The Distance**   
  


“You wake him up, and I will smack you so hard you will start speaking in tongues,” Carol muttered as she saw Connor get close to where Daryl was finally resting. They had slowly started to awake not too long ago, but she had made sure Daryl got a little more rest. She knew him, and she knew he had barely slept as he’d watched over them all night. 

 

“Awww, love,” Connor crooned, changing his path to approach Carol who was sitting against a crate cleaning her knife. “Who do you take me for?”

 

“Connor Cronan MacManus, I know you and how your brain works,” she said without looking up, a smirk on her face. “And if you want to get some cuddles anytime soon you will leave your baby brother alone.”

 

“I just wanted to let him know what we found outside; it’s mind blowing.”

 

“A true given miracle, sweetheart,” Murphy said as he moved to her free side, encompassing her in between the two of them. “The Almighty’s got our backs, as usual.”

 

“Well, he might … but he won’t if you wake up your brother.”

 

“I’m up,” Daryl grunted as he rubbed his eyes, automatically making to grab his crossbow as if being without it was like being without one of his limbs. “Don’t be too harsh on them, Carl woke me up when he made Judy squeal.”

 

Carol just rolled her eyes as Daryl approached her, taking her good hand and kissing the back of it. “You’re lucky you’re cute,” she muttered as a smile threatened to break her hard facade

 

“Aren’t we a couple of good looking lads, love?” Murphy said jokingly, as he pulled Daryl into a half hug, pushing it so their faces were side to side. “You got to pity that one … he’s the ugly triplet.”

 

“Oit!” 

 

The chuckles around them seemed to lift everyone’s spirits. They had survived the night, they had made it through what had seemed an impossible situation. They were stronger now than they had been yesterday. 

 

Daryl perched up on a crate to clean his bow, as everyone did their own thing around them. He would take Zach out to hunt in a little while. The weather had probably made the few animals around them move out from their hiding places and they might get lucky. They didn’t seem to have a set plan to leave yet, and he wouldn’t find it weird that Rick decided to let them rest for at least another day in that barn. 

 

It was the best thing they had since before they had lost Tyreese. 

 

“Hey, everyone … “ Maggie’s voice made all of them snap back into action, making the brothers stand to attention, making sure their girls were well protected - even if Carol rolled her eyes as Connor took a step to stand in front of her. “This is Aaron.”

 

Daryl immediately shared a look with his brothers before moving to check if Sasha and Maggie had been followed. His crossbow at the ready as his brothers pointed their guns at the so called ‘Aaron’ now standing in the middle of the barn. 

 

“We met him outside; he’s by himself,” Maggie said looking at Rick, but at the same time giving Daryl a look as he kept on fidgeting around them just before he without saying anything started patting Aaron down. 

 

“At least ask for permission before you start grabbing someone, Decks.”

 

“Shut up,” Daryl growled over Aaron’s shoulder, glaring at Murphy who was looking too relaxed for his liking. “Put that fucking gun up.”

 

“We took his weapons and his backpack,” Maggie continued, making as they all tended to, as if she hadn’t heard the brothers squabble. 

 

“Hi,” Aaron said nervously, looking at all the members of their family who were ready to take arms if he did anything wrong. 

 

“Hi,” Mika said from behind Murphy, her face peeking from behind his back. Aaron couldn’t help but chuckle softly, smiling at the little girl slightly before his eyes anxiously met Rick’s. 

 

Mika and Judith’s timely crying seemed to break the tension a little bit. Daryl moved past Aaron to join his family, nodding at Zach who had moved to stand at Murphy’s other side.  

 

“It’s nice to meet you,” Aaron said as he took a step closer to Rick, hand out as if he was going to try and shake it. Everyone’s guns immediately went up, too weary of strangers to understand the gesture for what it truly was. 

 

“You said he had a weapon?” Rick asked, watching intently as Maggie crossed the room to deliver it to him. 

 

“I don’t like his tone,” Connor said softly to Carol and Daryl, “it reminds me of the prison.” 

 

Daryl just nodded slightly, lowering his bow although without taking his finger off the trigger. Connor was right, Rick already looked jumpy enough for all of them. 

 

“Is there something you need?”

 

“He’s harmless,” Connor muttered to his family, as he watched Aaron instead of Rick. The man looked like he was close enough to pissing his pants, but at the same time he looked sure of himself. A contradiction if there was one. It was like he knew he was safe with them, even with Rick looking as feral as he was doing these days. 

 

“He has a camp, nearby,” Sasha said, her eyes unwavering from Rick. At the mention of the camp, Connor felt as Carol’s hand - which had been clutching at the back of his shirt - pulled him closer. Without having talked about it, they knew they needed this, for Mika and for Judith most of all; but also for them, for both their mental and physical health. “They want us to audition for membership.”

 

“Like fucking American idol?” Daryl asked, realizing too late that he had actually spoken out loud. 

 

“Don’t do it,”  Carol muttered sternly as she saw Connor and Murphy look at each other, grins threatening to appear on their faces. “Don’t do it.”

 

Daryl looked annoyed as he heard his brothers try to hide their snickers at his comment beside him, his eyes never leaving the form of Aaron in the middle of the barn. 

 

“When put like that, it makes us sound like we’re some kind of dance troupe.” Aaron made eye contact with Connor and Murphy, who seemed together with Carol the less threatening presence in the room. “But that’s only on Friday nights.”

 

Murphy snickered, getting a glare from Rick because of his troubles. “What? That was funny.”

 

Carol could see that Rick was having to take deep breaths to keep himself from lashing out, and she was glad their friend seemed to have understood nothing good came from confronting the MacManus. 

 

Aaron tried to hide the fact that he felt good at having broken the ice with at least one of them - two if you counted Mika who was still sneaking glances from behind Connor’s back. “It’s not a camp,” he continued, looking around to try and gage everyone’s reactions. “It’s a community. And I think all of you would make valuable additions. But it’s not my call.”

 

Carol looked at Aaron intently as he spoke. The boys were right, she could feel it in her gut. He was being honest, and truthful. He was probably a lot more innocent than any of them, baring Judith. He looked clean shaven and most of all … actually clean; like he had just been hiking when he ran into the ragtag group of misfits that they were.

 

“My job is to convince all of you to follow me back home.”

 

“And that, lad,” Connor interjected, crossing his arms over his chest as he gave Aaron a hard look. “Sounds exactly like the stuff our dearly departed Mama told us stranger danger sounded like.”

 

Carl snorted, trying to hide the smile on his face as his father turned his glare on him. 

 

“I know,” Aaron said, taking a step closer to Connor, obviously seeing them as the lesser danger. “And if I was in your shoes, I wouldn’t either …” Aaron turned to look at Rick. “Not until I knew exactly what I was getting into, especially if it involved my kids.”

 

Carol’s eyes met Michonne’s as she moved to stand closer to Carl and Judith. It wasn’t a threat, it really wasn’t; he was saying it in the most harmless tone he could manage. They might call Daryl ‘Papa Bear’, but Rick was more of a loose cannon when it came to his kids. 

 

“Sasha,” Aaron said, eyes leaving Rick’s just for a moment to look back. “Would you mind passing my backpack to Rick?”

 

Sasha looked warily at Aaron, walking to Rick while taking off the backpack at the same time. “In the front pocket, there’s an envelope.” Murphy moved closer towards Rick, trying to get a glimpse of what the former deputy was unveiling. “There’s no way I could convince you to come with me by just talking about our community, that’s why I brought those …”

 

They all watched as Rick slowly took the envelope out of the backpack. “I apologize in advance for the picture quality. We just found an old camera store last- ” 

 

“Nobody gives a rat’s ballsack about your picture quality.” Abraham interrupted him as he took a step closer towards Aaron. 

 

“You’re a hundred percent right.” Aaron nervously fidgeted with his hands, as he watched Rick take the pictures from the envelope. “That’s the first picture I wanted to show you, because nothing I say about our community will matter unless you know you’ll be safe.”  If you join us, you’ll be.”

 

“From the walkers,” Carl said softly from behind his father, where he was standing. “That will only keep the walkers out.”

 

“Each panel in that wall,” Aaron continued, feeling a little desperation as the young boy looked warily at him. “Each panel in that wall is a 15-foot-high, 12-foot-wide slab of solid steel framed by cold-rolled steel beams and square tubing.”

 

Daryl made a face, nodding slightly as he met Glenn’s eyes across the room. 

 

“Nothing alive or dead gets through that without our say-so.”

 

“They clearly don’t have a Carol in their community,” Abraham said softly at Glenn, giving Daryl an innocent look when the other man’s head snapped towards them as he heard the mention of his wife’s name across the room.

 

“Like I said, security is obviously important.” Aaron made a pause, watching as Murphy approached Rick. “In fact, there's only one resource more critical to our community's survival. The people.”

 

Murphy saw the look Michonne and Rick shared, moving to grab the pile of pictures from their so called leader since he was not looking through them. He could feel Rick’s eyes on the back of his head as he started perusing them, enthralled. Black and white pictures of a community of huge houses and big fences. Murphy’s eyes met Connor’s first and then Daryl’s … they communicated without words like only they could. It was what they had been looking for.  

 

Aaron smiled as he caught the look between the brothers. “Together we're strong. You can make us even stronger.” The look in Murphy’s face was enough to let Connor know they were backing Aaron, they would be going back with him to his community. They would get their girls the peaceful place they deserved. 

 

“The next picture, you'll see inside the gates. Our community was first construc-”   
  
“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU, GRIMES!” Connor was barely able to intercept Murphy as he moved towards were Rick had just knocked out Aaron in one punch. 

 

“Stand down, Murphy!”Connor barked at his brother as he continued trying to get past him towards were Rick was shaking his hand in pain. 

 

“He just fucking knocked him out! What’s is wrong with you?!” 

 

Rick didn’t even seem to hear as Daryl had to join Connor in keeping Murphy from getting to him. 

 

“Calm the fuck down, Malachy!” Connor sneered at his brother, as he heard Judith start to cry nearby. “You’re fucking scaring the baby!”

 

“Fucking asshole!” Murphy yelled as he turned away from Rick and went to kick a wooden crate away. “Fucking golden opportunity and he goes all fucking deputy asshat on him!”

 

Murphy didn’t stop pacing until Carol got directly in his way and hugged herself to him. “Calm down, he’s already getting a beat down from Michonne.”

 

At Carol’s words, the three brothers turned to look as the aforementioned woman who was scolding their leader over his behavior. 

 

“As Merle would have said,” Daryl muttered as he moved to check Aaron was in fact still alive, “he fucking went native.” 

 

“Dump his backpack, let’s see what he’s really about,” Rick ordered Carl, who passed the baby to Zach before following his father’s instructions. 

 

“Let’s secure him, I want eyes in every direction … they’re coming for us.” 

 

Carol gave Rick a look, one that he disregarded as he watched everyone start to move around. 

 

“Rick,” Maggie said as she knelt next to the unconscious man, “Sasha and I never saw him coming. If he’d wanted to hurt us, he could have .”  

 

“Does anyone see anything?”

 

“Is he? Seeing something?” Murphy said under his breath, as he watched everyone mobilize around the barn, looking for Rick’s imaginary enemies. “Just like at the fucking prison.”

 

“Murphy … “ Carol scolded him gently, getting him to scoff and roll his eyes before moving to look out through the spaces between the wooden beams. 

 

“Just a lot of places where people could hide,” Glenn called out from the other side of the barn. 

 

“Great, just what we need… people feeding into his fucking paranoia.” Carol grasped Murphy’s hand, giving him a warning look. She could see too that Rick was at the end of his tether, and the last thing they needed was for a fight to break out. Especially one where their leader wouldn’t walk out unscathed. 

 

Murphy pulled Carol into his arms as he sat himself on top of a wooden crate, watching as everyone moved around the barn like headless chickens. They were safe, he could feel it in his gut. He somehow understood Rick’s need to be cautious… especially after what Connor and Daryl had told them they had gone through at Terminus. 

 

But he just knew the man who was being tenderly tended to by Sasha and Michonne, even after they had bound his hands behind his back, was their opportunity for a safe place for their family. 

 

“Hey, princess,” Murphy said softly, as he moved one of his arms from Carol to hug Mika to his side. “Everything alright?”

 

“Why did Rick hit him, Muffin?” Mika asked quietly, as she warily looked at where Rick was still fuming in the middle of the barn. 

 

“Because he’s an ass-”

 

“Because he’s scared, squirt,” Zach interrupted Murphy, saving him from Carol’s wrath, “he doesn’t want anything bad to happen to any of us, so he’s being extra cautious.”

 

“He seemed nice; I don’t think he’s lying,” Mika said as she rested her side against Murphy. 

 

“Me neither, princess,” Murphy said softly as he dropped a kiss to the top of Carol’s head. “Me neither.”

 

It took Aaron a few minutes to regain consciousness, and by then they had calmed down from the blur of activity which had been going on immediately after the incident. 

 

“Hell of a right hook you got there, Rick.” Connor shook his head, chuckling silently as he watched Aaron keep his friendly approach even to the half unhinged Rick. 

 

“Sit him up,” Rick ordered looking sternly from Michonne to Maggie. 

 

“I think it’s better -”

 

“Sit him up,” Rick interrupted whatever Maggie was trying to tell him. 

 

“It’s okay,” Aaron said, as he moved his jaw from side to side to try and get the feeling back into his face. 

 

“He’s fine, sit him up.”

 

“Someone is gonna get his ass kicked,” Murphy softly sing sang so only his family around him could hear him as they all saw the look Michonne threw at Rick as she helped Aaron sit up. 

 

“You’re being cautious, I completely understand.” Aaron’s voice broke at the end of the sentence, and Carol could see that as Rick looked down on him; for the first time since he’d gotten there he was scared. And Carol’s heart went out to him. 

 

“How many of your people are out there?” Aaron looked away from Rick, fear in his eyes. “You have a flare gun, to signal them. How many of your people are out there?”

 

“Rick,” Carol said softly but sternly, watching as he shifted from foot to foot,  pretending he didn’t hear her. 

 

“Does it matter?” Aaron asked, facing Rick again head on. 

 

“Yes. Yes it does.”

 

“I mean, of course it does,” Aaron said, taking a moment to swallow down the knot at the back of his throat. “It actually matters the amount of people out there, but will it matter the amount of people I tell you are out there?”

 

“Eight? Thirty two? Four Hundred and forty four? Zero?” Carol slowly moved from Murphy’s embrace until she was standing to the side, looking as the terrified looking Aaron faced Rick head on. “No matter how many I tell you there are, you’re not going to trust me.”

 

“He won’t, but we will.” 

 

All eyes turned to Carol, as she approached the man kneeling on the ground. “Rick is cautious, and he has his reasons … but let’s hear yours.”

 

“Carol - “

 

Carol stopped Rick with a hand gesture and a look. The younger man huffed and moved back, glaring at her back and their ‘friend’ as she took center stage. “Tell us, tell  _ me _ .”

 

“Carol,” Aaron said, his face void of masks. If Carol had to say, she would put him in his early thirties; one of those guys from mid to upper class who had never lived a day in the conditions like her and her boys had. He reminded her of Zach for some reason, and the motherly part of her made her trust her instincts on that. “I’m really not trying to do you any harm.”

 

“I believe you,” Carol said to him, giving him a small smile. “But you have to understand, we’ve been through a lot. We’ve lost a lot.” Aaron nodded, looking down at the ground between them. “Why should we trust you?”

 

The curly haired man raised his eyes to look directly at Carol. “I was the one that left you water out there on the road.”

 

“You were following us?” Daryl’s growly voice made Aaron look to him, and he tried not to flinch when the angry archer took a step closer to him. 

 

“Daryl!” Daryl heeled at Carol snapping his name, glaring at Aaron as he moved to Carol’s side. “How long have you been following us?”

 

“Long enough to know you practically ignored a pack or roamers.” Carol observed as Aaron looked at the people around him, trying to convince them he was being honest; she could also detect a hint of awe in his face as he mentioned their feats. “That even if you were without food and water, you never truly turned on each other.”

 

“You are survivors, and you are people.” There was a small smile on Aaron’s face as he looked directly into Carol’s eyes. “And as I said before, and I really hope I don’t get punched again, that is the most important resource in the world.”

 

“How many of you are out there?” Rick asked, visibly calmer as he stepped to stand next to Daryl. 

 

“One.”

 

“Who?” Carol asked, as she saw Rick shake his head in disagreement as he started to pace. At Aaron’s look Carol asked again. “If there’s only one other person out there, I doubt it’s someone you don’t trust … so who’s the other person?”

 

Aaron looked away, biting his lip as he seemed to try and make a decision. He closed his eyes, sighing before opening and meeting Carol’s. “Do you believe me?” 

 

“It depends … who’s the other person out there?”

 

Connor grabbed Rick’s arm as he passed close to him, realizing the man was ready to interrupt whatever progress Carol was making. Rick’s angry gaze locked with his, and Connor didn’t waver. 

 

“My boyfriend.” Carol gave Aaron a knowing smile, before turning her back to him and walking towards the back knowing Rick was about to storm over and start demanding explanations. 

 

“What was that?” Rick asked, his jaw tight as he reached her, her boys not far behind as well as Glenn and Abraham. 

 

“I believe him.” Rick took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose as he seemed to be trying to avoid having a breakdown. 

 

“We can’t be sure, after the last time …” Glenn said softly, shuddering at the memory that seemed so long ago, but had happened less than a month before. “If it hadn’t been for Carol …”

 

Rick just clenched his jaw even more, running his hand over his messy beard as he glared at Aaron from over Carol’s shoulder before looking back to the rest of the group that was conferring. “I don’t trust him.”

 

“Let’s be honest here,” Connor said looking at Rick, “you wouldn’t even trust your own reflection at this point.”

 

Rick glared at Connor, pretending he didn’t hear Carl - who had been eavesdropping - snort at his comment. “We can’t risk it.”

 

“We’re dying out here, Rick,” Michonne said, coming closer as Carol made room for her to join them; glad to have a second woman backing her up. “We can’t continue like this, what if it’s for real? Can you imagine what that would mean for Judith? For Carl?”

 

“If you’re still not sure … “ Aaron seemed to cower a little as everyone turned their attention back to him, “I can take you there, if words or pictures won’t convince you… maybe taking you there will.”

 

“I don’t know how you will get all twenty of us there, in the one car you and your friend drove in,” Rick said, arms crossing over his chest as he continued to look menacing. 

 

“We came separately,” Aaron hurried to add, “we didn’t want to leave anyone behind if we found a group.”

 

“How convenient,” Rick muttered, before turning back in a clear signal that he was done talking with Aaron for the time being. “

 

“And you parked just a few miles away?” Daryl snarked playing devil's advocate. He did agree with his family, the man was harmless, he trusted his gut. But he felt the need to distrust strangers, just to keep himself on his toes. Nothing was true until he could see it with his own two eyes, that was the only way he knew how to keep his family safe. 

 

“East on Ridge Road, just after you hit Route 16. We wanted to park closer, but the storm hit and some trees fell on the road.”

 

“You really thought this through,” Rick said, hand on his gun. 

 

“Rick,” Aaron said, his calm demeanor starting to chip away. “If I wanted to ambush you, I would have done it here. You know, light the barn on fire while you slept, pick you off as you ran out the only exit.” 

 

Daryl could see how what Aaron was saying was not helping Rick’s paranoia at all. He wanted to tell the man to shut up, but he also knew they needed to hear it. Rick needed to hear it. Aaron was right, they had been in a vulnerable position since they had left the cars, if someone had wanted them dead, they could have done it. 

 

Aaron’s people could have just ambushed them somewhere on the road, when they were too tired and too weak to properly fight back. Instead they had tried to help. 

 

“You can trust me.”

 

Rick met Daryl’s eyes, the look in the man’s eyes was just as his brothers had mentioned before, one that they hadn’t seen since the prison. Since just after he had lost Lori. Rick was breaking apart at the seams, and overall he was afraid of losing anyone else. 

 

“I’ll go look for the cars,” Michonne said, looking from a relieved Aaron to Rick’s stern face. 

 

“There aren’t any cars.”

 

“We need to find out.”

 

“We don’t need to-”

 

“We do,” Michonne interrupted Rick before he could go on. “We really do. You know what you know, and you’re sure of it. And Carol and her troop think differently … but I don’t.”

 

“And neither do I,” Maggie said, stepping next to Michonne. 

 

Michonne took a step closer towards Rick, her hands itching to make contact with the distraught man but unwilling to take the first step. Rick broke their eye contact, choosing to look at Carol and her husbands behind her. “Your way is dangerous, mine isn’t.”

 

“We’re not willing to pass up a place for our children to live, Rick,” Connor said as he brought Mika closer from where she was leaning against him. “Are you?”

 

“That’s pretty dangerous,” Rick said between clenched teeth, as he tried to find someone to back him up among their people. Abraham and Rosita were the only two who didn’t look convinced, and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to make the group go with his gut if the majority wasn’t with him. 

 

“We’re pretty dangerous ourselves, lad,” Murphy said, a sardonic smile on his face as put an arm around Daryl’s shoulders. “I reckon the most dangerous thing they’ll have in there, will be us when we get there.”

 

“Are you trying to get us uninvited?” Zach hissed at Murphy, elbowing him in the side. 

 

“So that’s what we’re going to do,” Michonne said loudly, her voice final. “We’re going to go check the cars out first, and we’ll go from there.”

 

“I’ll go too,” Glenn said, looking at Maggie and sharing the first smile in a long time with his wife. 

 

“Abraham! Rosita!” Rick called the only two people who were somewhat on his side to join the others. 

 

“I’ll walk with them,” Abraham said, cocking his rifle as he glared menacingly while walking past Aaron. 

 

“You got enough fire power?” Rick asked Glenn. 

 

“We’ll make do. We always do.”

 

“If you’re not back within sixty minutes, we’ll come looking for you.” A look passed between Rick and Michonne. “Maybe that’s exactly what they want us to do.” 

 

Michonne just turned her back on him and walked out, the rest of the scouting group following soon after. 

 

“If we all sit and wait here, we’ll be easy targets,” Rick said loudly as activity returned in the barn, Daryl helped Aaron stand and pushed him to sit against a pillar. “Everyone outside, to a lookout point, everyone pair up.”

 

Carol shared a look with Connor as they all moved out of the barn, leaving Rick with Judith and their captive behind. 

 

“I’m not sure we should leave them alone back there,” Carol said worriedly as she took Mika’s hand, Carl joining them as they started to split up. 

 

“Leave the man in control of something, love,” Connor said softly as Daryl started to point them towards the points he had chosen for them. “Got to allow him to keep his honor, got to keep the pretences.”

 

Carol chuckled softly as Connor kissed her cheek before motioning to Zach to follow him just as Murphy did the same with Carl. 

 

“You’re stuck with us now, Pookie,” Carol joked softly as she and Mika followed Daryl to the vantage point he had chosen for himself. “You got the short end of the stick, if you ask me …”

 

“Are you kidding me?” Daryl said softly as he started to look up the tree he was sure even Carol with her bad hand would be able to climb up to. “I get to hang out with the prettiest girls in the whole camp, I’m sorry for the other two…”

 

Carol shook her head as Daryl reached down to grab onto Mika’s good arm pulling her up to the tree he had climbed as easy as if he had been born a squirrel himself. “You good, princess?” The soft tone he seemed to use only for her - and now for Mika too - making it’s appearance as he made sure their girl was sitting tight before reaching out to pull her up. 

 

“I used to be good at climbing trees,” Carol mumbled as she allowed her husband to pull most of her weight as she braced her feet against the tree trunk. “But that was a very long time ago.”

 

“You would have been up here if it wasn’t for those ribs,” Daryl said softly, as he stood with his legs spread shoulder width as he helped her settle next to Mika. “Damned things take forever to heal.”

 

Carol smiled as she felt Mika snuggling close to her as they sat down to wait. To wait for an attack she was sure was never going to come, but one they had to be prepared for anyway. 

 

And now, they would wait. 

 

-.-.-

 

“So we’re doing this ...” Murphy said as they watched Rick make his dramatic exit. His brothers made noises of agreement as everyone started to browse through the food they had taken from the R.V

 

“I don’t like that we’re going at night, but we’ve got to give Rick something at least.” The brothers nodded as Carol picked a couple of chef boyardee cans, sharing a smile with Daryl.

 

“A woman after my own heart.” Murphy and Connor smiled as they all moved towards where Mika and Snake were sitting down, amazed at the fact that their baby brother Daryl was openly flirting with their wife. 

 

“We have to prepare,” Daryl said as he opened the can first for Mika, and then for Carol. “How we doing on ammo?”

 

“Good,” Connor said as he stole a ravioli from Mika’s can, making the girl make a face at him. “We’re staying in the RV, together.”

 

There was no one fighting that statement. The last thing they were going to allow when going to a new place, to a place they didn’t really know what was going to happen … was to allow themselves to be separated. They had come a long way for that to happen, again. 

 

“Has he always been this bossy?” Zach asked, trying to hide his grin behind the can he was devouring. 

 

“Since the moment we left our mother’s womb,” Murphy said, sighing in dramatic effect. “Can you imagine growing up with that? He says jump, and I ask how high.”

 

“Poor Muffin,” Carol crooned softly, kissing the side of Murphy’s face softly. “You must have suffered so much.”

 

“You should thank me,” Connor said with a smirk. “That’s how he learned to follow orders so well.” He moved his eyebrows up and down. 

 

“Oh, God, I didn’t need to know that,” Zach groaned. 

 

“What are you talking about?” Mika asked innocently. “What do you mean by that?”

 

Carol had to pat Daryl’s back as he choked on his food while  Connor stammered out an answer to Mika’s innocent face. No one saw the wink she gave Mika when they were all distracted. 

 

It came too soon, the sun coming down and having to herd everyone but Michonne, Glenn, and Rick into the RV that Abraham was going to be driving. 

 

“Where is he? Your boyfriend?” Carol asked Aaron softly, as Michonne walked him towards the back seat they would be sharing. “Will he be safe? Do you have a meeting place?”

 

“He probably knows by now that something happened,” Aaron said as he eyed Rick as he came out of the barn, followed by Carl who was ready to receive Judith when he passed her to him. “He knows to stay put, and I’ll get to him tomorrow.”

 

“Are you sure? We can pass and pick him up on our way there,” Daryl added as he smiled at Judith when Carl passed him by. “There wouldn’t be an issue.”

 

“He should be in a safe place, I’ll come back tomorrow.”

 

“Alright,” Daryl grumbled as he put his hand on Carol’s back as she got into the R.V. “Be safe,” Daryl said looking directly at Michonne. “We’ll have your backs.”

 

“You always do.”

-.-.-.-

 

“It’s so fucked up,” Zach said as he looked out the windows, to the endless blackness that was the deepest of nights. “We should have waited for morning, it’s an unneeded danger.”

 

“We work with what we have,” Daryl said, from where he was cramped into a corner with Carol on his lap. “Might not be the safest, but it was the only way Rick was going to accept going with him.”

 

“Just try to relax,” Carol said as she caressed her good hand up and down Judith’s back. It hadn’t taken long for the baby to start fuzzing, and even shorter for Carl to freak out and pass her to the one person who was able to always calm down his little sister. “Get some sleep.”

 

Zach made a face at where Carl had fallen asleep curled with Mika using his chest as a pillow. “Like that?”    

 

“Exactly like that,” Murphy said as he looked at the kids with fondness clear on his face. 

 

“That wasn’t the response I was expecting,” Zach muttered, giving Daryl a look. “No, ‘I’m going to kill that little shit’ from Papa Bear?”

 

“Why should I?” Daryl grumbled, as he burrowed his face in Carol’s neck, grunting when Abraham failed to miss a pothole. “Someone should teach that asshole how to drive.”

 

“Because she’s your little girl? And he’s a teenage boy?”

 

At the look of bewilderment on the three guys who were their father figure, Zach looked at Carol. Carol who was trying to hide her grin. 

 

“Are you telling me you’re not remembering how you were when you were fourteen? All you thought about was …”

 

“Movies.”

 

“Hunting.”

 

“Are you fucking kidd-” Zach’s exasperated outburst was cut short when the RV stopped suddenly, jostling everyone forward. Judith immediately started to cry as Carol tried to shush her while Daryl kept her upright. 

 

“What the fuck happened, man?” Murphy yelled from the very back where they had been huddled, towards the front where everyone else was cramped. 

 

No one gave a clear answer, with half of the people inside the RV yelling at the front, and the other half trying not to lose it. 

 

Abraham didn’t listen to any of them, choosing for himself to back up the RV and leave the herd they had encountered behind. 

 

“Where are we going? We can’t leave?!” Maggie yelled as she pushed her way to the front, with Connor basically jumping over almost everyone to join her. “Glenn is in that car!”

 

“I’m sorry,” Abraham said, clearly not sorry at all as he drove away from where the other car had been going. “The man said the other road was cleared, we move there and if they’re alright, they’ll find us.”

 

“If they’re alright?” Maggie asked in disbelief. “They better be.”

 

“We need to find a place that’s not so open,” Connor said as he looked warily to the dense darkness, “they’ll find us. We always find each other.” 

 

His comforting words seemed to have zero effect on Maggie, who gripped the back of Abraham’s headrest hard enough for her knuckles to whiten. 

 

“There,” Connor exclaimed as a flare lit up the sky. “That could be them.”

 

“Aaron had one of those in his bag! The bag that my dad took with him!” Carl yelled from the back, leaping over Noah and Tara who just yelled at him for hitting them in his haste. “I saw it with my own eyes.”

 

“Go!” Connor ordered, before looking over his shoulder to see his family already shouldering their weapons as Mika sat with a finally calmed judith on the bed. “Everyone get ready!”

 

It didn’t take them long to reach the town, having Abraham slow the RV down so it wouldn’t attract much attention. 

 

“We should go on foot, small groups … leave the most vulnerable in the vehicle.” Connor nodded at Abraham’s words, giving Zach a look that the boy knew meant he was staying behind to look after the younger ones. 

 

“We four. We’re going north,” Murphy said pointing at his brothers and Carol, as everyone capable got ready to leave the RV. “Carl, Noah and Zach stay with the kids.” Carl didn’t even try to fight Murphy on that, knowing where his friend stood when it came to protecting Mika and Judith. 

 

“Rosita and I will take the East.” 

 

“Tara and I will take the west.”

 

“And we just came from the south, so we’re good,” Daryl said, bow ready. “We meet here in fifteen minutes, look for them, but also look for a place we can stay. I don’t want us moving anymore at night.” 

 

Connor couldn’t help but feel his heart swell in pride at seeing Daryl take the position of leader he knew made his brother so uncomfortable.  

 

“Don’t be a hero, if you find a herd, get out of there before being noticed.” People nodded at Daryl words. 

 

“Everyone,” Carol said as Abraham got ready to open the door. “Stay safe.”

 

No one commented on the fact that neither Gabriel nor Eugene were given a task to do. Or on the fact that the three brothers and Carol hadn’t allowed themselves to be separated, they all understood there was no way it was happening a second time. Not after what they had gone through before.

 

“Michonne and Glenn can take care of themselves,” Murphy said quietly as they followed Daryl in the dark, stopping at his signal. Connor and Carol were being kept in the middle, not because they were any less deadly than the other two, but mostly because they were still not completely recuperated. Murphy and Daryl hadn’t even tried to keep them behind, knowing how hard headed they really were.  

 

“And Rick?” Carol asked, although she already knew the answer.

 

“He’s alright.”

 

“Your lack of confidence in our fearless leader could get you hanged,”  Connor murmured, grunting when he slammed his back against a wall as Daryl looked carefully around a corner. 

 

“But, Connor, didn’t you already know?” Murphy asked, his words cutting as he panted, trying to keep up the pace Daryl had set. “I’m already hung.”

 

Even stoic Daryl snorted at his brothers words. 

 

“I have to be the-”

 

“Help!” 

 

The lonely scream felt, for a moment, that it was coming from everywhere at once. Back to back, one to each direction of the intersection they waited for what seemed an eternity for any sign of life, of help needed. 

 

“Help!” 

 

“This way!” Daryl barked, before he took off running towards where the scream  had come from. 

 

“Was it from one of us?” Murphy yelled, as he tried to catch up to Carol, who was the only one who wasn’t panting out a lung. 

 

“I don’t think -”

 

Her words were cut short as Daryl suddenly stopped in front of her, his body tense as he raised his bow, letting the arrow he had ready fly, killing the walker that was about to chomp on the man who had cried out for help. 

 

No words were needed between the four of them, knives out, and before the man had even a chance to move the walker that Daryl had killed from himself, the eight walkers that had been trying to make a meal out of him had been disposed off. 

 

“That’s all of them?” Daryl asked, as his hand caressed Carol’s arm softly. The moonlight the only thing giving them guidance in the dark night. 

 

“Yeah,” Connor said as he too did a quick check over their wife before looking at each of his brothers. “You okay?”

 

“Perfect,” Murphy answered as Daryl just grunted an ‘alright’ before moving to the poor man who was still trying to push the slumped body from over him.

 

“You alright, lad?” Murphy said as Daryl took the walker by the back of the shirt pulling it from the man. 

 

“Yeah,” the redhead said, panting as he patted himself, making sure he hadn’t been bitten. 

 

“Here,” Murphy said as both he and Daryl moved to pull the man up, only to have him cry out in pain and almost crumble as soon as he put any weight on his right foot. 

 

“Sorry,” the man hissed, trying again to put weight on that ankle as Murphy held onto him. “I can’t.”

 

“Help him,” Daryl ordered Connor as his brother took his place under the man’s arm. “We need to find a safe place, the others might have found them by now.”

 

“Is Aaron with you? Is he alright?”

 

“You’re Aaron’s boyfriend?” Carol asked, not looking at the man, moving to cover their backs as they moved again in formation. 

 

“My name is Eric.” Carol gave him a quick smile, as they continued on their way. “I saw when you guys left to get the vehicles, I didn’t know if he was alright but -”

 

“Shhhh,” Daryl quited them, motioning them to stop while he checked around the corner. 

 

“He’s fine, Rick’s a bit jumpy so he just wanted to make sure,” Carol said softly, to try and calm the clearly distraught Eric. “He said you would know to lay low until he came to get you?”

 

“I was going to, but they just came out of nowhere.” They continued to walk as soon as Daryl gave them the signal. “There’s a place, a couple of streets from here… that’s where I was heading.”

 

“Is it safe?” Daryl asked.

 

“Should be.”

 

“Which way?”

 

“Two streets that way, then a right and half a block down.”

 

Daryl nodded, keeping their pace steady as they moved through the night. There weren’t any other walkers, but they still maintained the silence in hopes of not attracting anymore. 

 

Words weren’t needed when Connor passed the whole weight of keeping Eric upright to Murphy, following Daryl into what Eric had said was a safe space. Carol could feel her heart beating in synchrony with her boy’s steps as they entered the dark secluded place. 

 

“It’s alright, love,” Murphy said softly to her, catching her eyes even in the almost darkness, “they’ll be back in just a second.”

 

It wasn’t but a moment later when Connor was ushering them inside as Daryl lit the sole candle he had found in the whole empty space. 

 

“You were right,” Connor said to Eric as he helped Murphy lower him down onto an old couch, “it was empty.”

 

“Aaron and I cleared it a couple of weeks ago,” Eric said, hissing in pain as Carol helped him to take off his boot. “How bad is it, doc?”

 

“Probably broken,” Carol answered, pressing on the already swollen ankle. “We’ll have to stay here, and wait for them to find us.”

 

“We’ll go back to the RV, drive it down here with everyone else,” Daryl said, already gearing up to get out there. “Rick is like a hound when it comes to his kids, they’ll find us.”

 

“Rick is not with you?” The only one who dared to meet Eric’s eyes as he asked the question was Carol. “Is Aaron with you?”

 

Carol gave him a sad smile. “He’s not, but I’m sure they’ll find us soon.”

 

“I need to go,” Eric muttered as he scrambled to try and get up, “I need to find Aaron.”

 

“You need to stay right here,” Carol said softly, trying to push him back, only to have him push her hands away. 

 

“No, no,” Eric said desperately, as he hopped to his feet, “I need to find him, he can’t be out there!”

 

“Eric…”

 

“Rick’s going to kill him!” 

 

The redhead’s words were met with silence. “I told Aaron it wasn’t a good idea, I told him we should have waited to approach you!”

 

“Calm down.”

 

“No!” Eric yelled, forgetting about his broken ankle and taking a step forward, crumbling down as soon as he put any weight on it. The only reason why he didn’t hit the ground, was that Carol - who was still recovering - was close enough to try and catch him. 

 

“Fucking fuck!” Carol hissed as she dropped Eric back onto the couch with Murphy’s help, pushing away the hands that were trying to reach to try and help sooth her pain somehow. “Stop it,” she grunted as she pushed their hands away, “I’m alright, just wasn’t expecting that.”

 

“You should have let him drop,” Daryl muttered surely as he glared at the man who had - without meaning - caused his wife pain. “Serves him right, the son of a bitch.”

 

“Daryl …” he didn’t meet Carol’s eyes, choosing to look towards the front of the room, knowing she would be looking at him with disappointment in her eyes. “He’s just worried, just like you would be.”

 

“Whatever,” Daryl muttered, moving to kiss her softly on the forehead before stalking towards the exit; knowing one of his brothers would soon follow. 

 

“Be safe,” Carol called out to both Daryl and Murphy as they made their wait out. 

 

“Nine lives, remember?” Daryl called back softly, sharing a look with Connor before he and Murphy disappeared back into the night.

 

Carol was still smiling as she returned to check on Eric, who was fidgeting and avoiding to look at her. “It’s okay,” Carol said softly, making a face as she felt the bones crackle under her hand as she moved Eric’s ankle, “I get that you’re worried, but he’ll be alright.”

 

“He’s everything I’ve got,” Eric said after a moment of silence, his eyes filled with tears as they finally met Carol’s. “I can’t lose him.”

 

“I can’t promise you won’t,” Carol said, sharing a knowing look with Connor. “But from what I got from talking with him, he cares a lot for you … and if he’s anything like him … “ Carol motioned with her head towards were Connor was standing guard, “nothing will stop him until he finds you again.”

 

Eric gave her a small smile, glancing at Connor before looking back at her. “You two make a sweet couple.” Carol glared at Connor when he snorted at Eric’s words. “You all look very close.”

 

“When you’ve gone through what we have, lad,” Connor said without taking his eyes off the front entrance Daryl and Murphy had closed behind them. “You either become closer, or things just break apart.”

 

“We love each other very much, and the boys are very protective of me.”

 

“Your daughter is very cute.” Carol just knew Connor was having a field day with all that Eric was telling them, “and your son looks very capable.”

 

“Zach?” Connor asked, his smirk growing with every sentence. “He is, great shot. I taught him everything he knows.”

 

“I think Daryl might take an offense at that,” Carol said, trying not to laugh. 

 

“He’ll get over it, Zach takes after his father after all.” 

 

The joke was entirely lost on Eric, who Carol quickly distracted with questions about his pain. But she just knew something was brewing in Connor’s mind, and she just hoped it wasn’t something that would get all of them in trouble once they got to Eric and Aaron’s community. 

 

Because she knew they were going to get there. 

 

It didn’t take long before the door was opening again and everyone was spilling back in, Daryl and Murphy at the rear ushering their group in. 

 

“Nice digs,” Abraham muttered glaring momentarily at Eric, only for him to move aside to allow Mika to get to Carol’s side. “We’ll keep an eye out for the others; you guys did your part tonight.”

 

“Let him,” Carol said softly to Daryl when she saw him start to move to follow Abraham, “just let him.”

 

“Have to let others take some of the work, little brother,” Connor said in agreement, pulling Daryl by the scruff of his neck into a forced hug, smiling when Daryl grunted and pushed him away. “Can’t do everything yourself.”

 

“I can,” Daryl answered moodily, moving to get some of the supplies Glenn had started to hand out from one of the bags they had gotten from the RV. “Annoying prick.”

 

“I heard that!” Connor called from the other side of the room, where he was standing with Carol and Mika before the two females moved to find a place where their family could crash for the night. 

 

“You were supposed to!” 

 

Connor was still laughing when he realized Eric was looking at him strangely. “He isn’t Irish? But you and Murphy …”

 

“Long story, lad.” Carol smiled as she looked to where Murphy was already bugging Daryl with something as they worked to get what they needed for them to make it through the night. “But what matters is that we’re family, and I would do anything for my family.”

 

Eric swallowed at the underlying thread that Connor delivered with a smile on his face. There was a look in the man’s eyes that made Eric shudder, and he would pity whoever got in the way of that man and his family. He was more than sure that whomever dared to hurt Connor’s family, would never come out on top. 

 

“Cookie,” Carol’s overly sweet voice snapped Connor out of his stare down, causing him to turn and smile as he watched his wife call him over. “Come and help us, please?”

 

“On my way, love,” he said winking at her, before looking back at Eric and giving him a serious nod. He hoped he had gotten his point across, just the bare essential that the man knew not to cross them, but not too much to cause him to fear them. “Rest,” Connor said as he stood from where he had been crouched talking to Eric, “you need it to heal that foot, we’ll wake you if anything happens.”

 

“Thank you.” Connor stopped a few feet away, his back still to Eric. “Not everyone would have stopped and risked themselves to save someone they didn’t know.”

 

“That’s who we are.”

 

“And that’s why we want you with us.” There was a look of understanding on Eric’s face as Connor looked at him before walking the rest of the way back to his family. He was sure they had at least two allies in that place if they ever got back to it. Two out of the hundreds of enemies they could find in there. But at least they had those two. 

 

“Stop that,” Connor hissed at Murphy as he slapped the hand his brother was sneaking to grab Carol by the waist as Connor pushed himself against their wife’s back. “I mean it, Malachy.”

 

“Fuck you, Connor. That’s my wife.”

 

“Well,” Connor said, a smirk on his face as he nuzzled his face against the side of Carol’s neck, loving how he could feel her melt against him as he did so. “Eric thinks she’s  _ my  _ wife, so …”

 

“What the fuck!” 

 

The room went silent, and Daryl couldn’t help but blush to the tips of his ears as he noticed everyone’s eyes on him after his outburst. 

 

“Everything’s alright, shuffle along,” Connor said looking at everyone over his shoulder as he pushed Carol closer so their small circle became a little more private. “Nothing to hear, just an angry redneck. It’s not like you’ve never seen one before.”

 

Daryl sneered at his brother, the only reason keeping him from smacking him silly was the fact that he was glued to Carol’s back. “You’re gonna pay for that,” Daryl threatened, his voice low as he glared at everyone who was still looking at them. “I’m going to make sure of that.”

 

“We need to keep a cover,” Connor said, trying to keep the smirk off his face as he kissed the side of Carol’s face. “Eric thinks Carol’s my wife.” 

 

“Well she is,” Murphy said, eyebrows raised. 

 

“Only  _ my  _ wife.”

 

“Fuck you, Connor,” both Murphy and Daryl hissed at the same time, losing some of the weight their words would have when said in tandem. 

 

“I didn’t say anything, he just assumed,” Connor said, smirking at his brothers behind Carol, knowing she wasn’t able to see his face. “We just understood that it would be better, for the time being that he believes that.”

 

“He also thinks that you are our biological children,” Carol said softly, her hands going to touch both Mika and Zach who were standing with them as well. “We just didn’t tell him otherwise. We just realized it would be safer for you, for all of us if they all thought that.”

 

“But you are, Mama Carol,” Zach said softly, winking at her as he took her hand and kissed the back of it. “For me you’re the closest thing I’ve ever had to a real mom.”

 

Carol just pouted, opening her arms and allowing the young man to hug her to him. “I mean it,” Zach said softly as he hugged her softly, “you’ve done more for me as a mother than mine ever did.”

 

“My mom was a lot like Lizzie,” Mika said as she pushed herself into the embrace between Carol and Zach, “I’m glad you adopted me, Mama.”

 

Daryl’s eyes met Carol’s as they heard the words come out the little girl who had her arms around Carol’s waist. Sadness was shared between them, but there was also love and hope. Hope to get their children to a safe place, to get them to a place where they could have the chance to grow old that Sophia didn’t have. 

 

“We’re glad both of you adopted us,” Carol said, as she pulled back, putting a hand on Zach’s cheek and another on Mika’s. “It’s going to be hard, but do you think you can do it?”

 

“The issue is going to be not to forget that we have to call that guy, dad …” Zach said with a smirk, giving Connor a look. “He doesn’t look very fatherly to me.”

 

“I’ll have you know, little shit, that I can be very fatherly. I almost raised this wanker myself!”

 

“I’m like three minutes younger than you Connor, you didn’t raise me.”

 

“I sure did! Our late mam would give me the reason if she was still here with us!”

 

“She would box your ears, that’s what she would do.”

 

-.-.-.

 

Daryl took a deep breath of the fresh night air as he rested his back against the wall next to the closed door. He had taken over Abraham’s watch not long before, needing the fresh air and the solitude for a little while. 

 

They weren’t loud, but the place was not too big and too enclosed for his liking. It reminded him of the prison for some reason, and that only brought a pang to his chest because he couldn’t help but think of what they’d lost. 

 

His face was barely visible by the flame of his lighter as he lit one of his smokes. 

 

Connor was right, their relationship wasn’t conventional and they needed to be prepared. Carol had been the one to suggest the need to keep a low profile and how she would be great for that. They didn’t like the idea, of her hiding who she really was. But it was smart; and they needed to be smart to survive in this brand new world. 

 

“You know you should stop using those.” Daryl smirked around his cigarette, opening his free arm for Carol to cuddle against his side. “Those can kill you, you know?”

 

“If the walkers don’t get to me first.” His growly voice sent a shiver down Carol’s back as he dropped his arm to rest against her hip, the cigarette in his hand. 

 

“They won’t, and I kind of like you … so I want you to live a long and healthy live.”

 

“Kind of?”

 

“Well, you are my brother in law after all.” Daryl snorted, burrowing his face against her neck and kissing her there softly. 

 

“Do you let all your brothers in law do this?” His cigarette laid forgotten on the floor as his calloused hand sneaked up the front of her shirt, to cup one of her breasts. 

 

“As a matter of fact, I do!” Her soft laughter made Daryl huff one as well. Carol turned her face into him, getting on her tiptoes so she could lay her forehead against his. “Are we okay?”

 

“We’re perfect,” Daryl answered softly, nudging her nose with his. 

 

“I just don’t want you to -”

 

“I love you.” The strength behind those words always surprised her, he loved her and he was no longer afraid of letting her know it. “And I understand why we have to do it… I’m just afraid I won’t be able to keep my hands off of you.”

 

“You kept them to yourself for the whole winter before the prison …”

 

“I didn’t know how you tasted back then.”

 

Carol didn’t get to answer him as the sound of their whistle call made them jump into action. She would make her  _ brother  _ pay for that later. 

 

They watched with a smile on their face as Carl and Maggie ran out to meet Glenn and Rick, Carol giving Michonne a hug as she finally approached them. 

 

“Eric?” Aaron asked, anxiety clear in his face. 

 

“He’s inside,” Connor said patting their new friend on the shoulder just as Eric called out for him from inside. They didn’t try to stop him when he ran inside without saying anything, needing to see that the man he loved was fine for himself. 

 

“Everything alright?” Rick asked, as he and Daryl shook hands. 

 

“Good, we rescued Eric from a small herd. Man broke his ankle.”

 

“Eric?” Michonne asked, as they all started to make their way back inside. 

 

“Aaron’s boyfriend, he was the one that lit up the flare,” Daryl answered as he ushered everyone inside, closing the door behind them. “He’s good, it was just as Aaron said - “ he frowned when Rick just walked away leaving him mid sentence, “it was only them.”

 

“He’s alright?”

 

“Broken ankle, other than that he’s good.” 

 

They all decided to allow the two men have their reunion in peace, keeping themselves to the outer room while Aaron, Eric, and Rick remained in the other room. 

 

“It’s going to be tight,” Glenn said as Maggie and him moved to join Carol and her husbands. “But after what we just went through, I’m sure even Rick will want to settle for the night.”

 

“That bad, huh?” Daryl asked, standing close to Carol, hands itching to touch her but keeping his urges to himself. 

 

“Worse, shouldn’t have let Rick talk us into that.” Glenn shared a look with Maggie, before kissing the side of her head. “It was madness.”

 

“We’re lucky we get to learn from our mistakes, laddie,” Connor said, smiling as he saw Tara playing some kind of hand slap game with Mika. “It’s good to have you back.”

 

“I trust him,” Glenn said looking at them in the eyes, his words clearly referring to Aaron. “He was desperate to find Eric, once he saw that flare …”

 

“It reminded you of yourself.” 

 

Glenn just nodded, burrowing his face in Maggie’s hair breathing her in. It had been a close call, one he could have not made it through. And that scared him. 

 

The sound of footsteps coming from the back made everyone fall into silence, as Aaron slowly shuffled closer to them. His eyes were red rimmed, he had clearly been crying. He was met with looks of understanding and smiles, ones that he couldn’t help but return gratefully. 

 

“I have to thank you …” Aaron stopped so he could take a breath, and to calm down the tears that were threatening to start spilling down his cheeks. “You didn’t have to save Eric, and yet - “

 

“We just did what needed to be done,” Connor said, sneaking an arm around Carol’s waist and pulling her close. “We just did what we hope anyone would do for one of our family.”

 

“Just …” Aaron looked them over, “thank you. And I will make sure you guys get paid in full when we get back to our community, when we get to Alexandria.” Aaron chuckled nervously. “I don’t know about you guys, but I really don’t want to drive any more tonight… how about we go there bright and early tomorrow morning?”

 

“That’s fine,” Rick said from behind Aaron, startling him. “But if we’re all staying here tonight, you’re sleeping all the way over on that side,” he said while pointing towards the furthest corner from where they were standing. 

 

“Fuck off, deputy Grimes,” Murphy said not cowering when Rick’s glare zeroed on him. “Let them be, they’ve been through fucking enough.”

 

“It’s for our protection, we don’t know him.”

 

“The only way you’re going to stop me from being with him right now, it’s by shooting me,” Aaron said, having turned around while Rick was busy glaring at Murphy. With a sigh, the young man made to push his way past Rick when Glenn’s hand stopped him from a confrontation he didn’t seem to be ready for. 

 

“Fucking Dick Grimes,” Murphy said softly as they watched Glenn say something to Rick, too soft for them to get to hear them. “He’s fucking losing it.”

 

“He just needs to actually sleep, he’s been getting worse and worse since we left Atlanta,” Carol said softly, trying to stifle a yawn as she watched Mika do so . “Lack of sleep can make you hypervigilant.”

 

“If he doesn’t get any, I’m gonna knock him out; let’s see how hypervigilant he is after that.”

 

“Maybe he’ll get some in that community, that should help too,” Zach muttered, hissing when Connor slapped the back of his head for the comment. “What?!”

 

“Be respectful of your mother, don’t say nasty things like that while in her presence.”

 

“You’re enjoying that way too much.”

 

“Need to have some perks,” Connor muttered, smirking at his brothers when Carol was not watching. 

 

The glare he received from them promised him he was going to eventually regret it, but as Rick huffed and allowed them back to where they would settle down for the night, he decided he didn’t give a fuck about whatever his brother could come up with next. It was for their safety that he was making that sacrifice. They would eventually see it his way. 

 

-.-.-

 

The next morning there was an underlying sense of excitement in all of them as they climbed onto the RV. It was decided that Rick and his family, plus Michonne, would ride with him in the old transam, hoping that the time alone would help their kind of leader settle before their meeting with the leader in Alexandria. 

 

Of course, no one told Rick that was the specific reason why everyone but Michonne and Carl had decided to climb on top of each other like sardines inside the RV. No space was left unused, ending up with Connor and his brothers sitting on the other single bed across from Eric as Carol slumbered on Connor’s lap. 

 

“He’ll be okay,” Murphy said softly as Aaron sat looking worriedly at his boyfriend. “He was mostly concerned about you, rather than about the pain.”

 

Aaron gave the middle brother a small smile, accepting the water bottle Daryl passed him silently. 

 

“We have a really good surgeon in Alexandria,” Aaron said absentmindedly as he pushed some of Eric’s hair out of his face. “The things I’ve seen him do, he just performs miracles.”

 

“We’ll have to ask him to give her a check up,” Connor said softly, as he caressed Carol’s cast with the tips of his finger. “Just to make sure it’s healing properly.”

 

“Worst thing that could happen now, would be that it doesn’t.”

 

As Murphy said those words the RV came to a halt. 

 

“You just had to open your big fat mouth, didn’t you?”

 

“Don’t worry lad,” Connor said as he nuzzled the side of Carol’s head, “we’ll get there … maybe it’ll take a couple of more hours… but we’ll get there.”

 

And they did. 

 

The sign saying ‘Welcome to Alexandria Safe Zone’ greeted them as the massive door opened before their eyes. They had arrived at their new home. 


	9. Remember

**Chapter IX**

**Remember**

 

Carol looked down as Mika’s little hand gripped hers, the girl looking at her with a nervous smile on her face. They were all nervous as they waited for the front gate of ‘Alexandria’ to open for them. Aaron kept throwing them what he thought were reassuring smiles over his shoulder, but he was really more concerned about getting Eric inside and checked over. 

 

“We’ll be alright,” Daryl muttered from Carol’s other side, as he kept his crossbow at the ready. “You’ll see.”

 

“Declan is quite correct, princess,” Connor added as he grabbed Mika’s other hand, keeping her between her ‘parents’. “We’ll be just fine.”

 

Carol could feel Zach and Murphy at their backs, as everyone tensed up as the gate opened to show them a guy who did not look welcoming at all. The sound of metal hitting the road made everyone jump startle, as Daryl let one of his bolts fly, impaling a possum which had been the culprit of their scare. 

 

“We brought dinner,” Daryl muttered at the stare he was getting from the men from Alexandria, sharing a look with his brothers as they hid the fact that they felt like bursting out laughing. 

 

“It’s okay,” Aaron said to the man, amusement barely hidden in his tone, “come on in, guys.”

  
  


Daryl met Connor’s eyes, nodding slightly in a silent understanding over the need to be on top of their game, the odds were stacked and he just hoped they weren’t against them. The houses looked incredible, the wall looked sturdy. They wanted to invest in Aaron’s belief that it was all good, but they had to keep their guards up. For their survival. For Carol’s and Mika’s continued survival. 

 

The door closed behind Abraham, the clinking of metal on metal making Daryl shudder in discomfort. 

 

“We’re good, baby brother,” Murphy said softly as he moved to cover Daryl’s free side, while Zach did the same to stand at Connor’s. “Steady.”

 

Daryl huffed, looking around with a frown on his face and the dead carcass of the possum clutched in his tight fist. 

 

“Before we go any further,” the man who had opened the gate said, looking at them with not only distrust but disgust in his eyes, “we will need you to turn in your weapons.”

 

“The fuck we will.” Carol closed her eyes as both Murphy and Daryl barked at the same time. 

 

“If you stay, you will hand them over,” the man continued, glaring at the brothers, challenging them to oppose him. 

 

“We don’t know if we’re staying,” Rick said, Judith in one arm his upholstered python in the other.  

 

Aaron sighed before turning to the man next to him. “It’s okay, Nicholas.” Aaron turned to the rest of the newcomers giving them a small jittery smile. 

 

“If we were going to use them, we would have started already.” Connor wanted to groan, as Rick continued his menacing act against the other man. 

 

“What our fearless leader means,” Connor said a smile on his face as he turned up the charm, “Aaron can vouch for us; we don’t mean you any harm.”

 

“Let them talk to Deanna first,” Aaron said to Nicholas, giving the other man a look. 

 

“Who is Diana?” Abraham asked from the back of the group, as he stood with his rifle ready, looking as menacing as possible. 

 

“She knows everything you want to know about this place.” 

 

“She’s the Simon Cowell to your American Idol?” Murphy asked raised eyebrows. 

 

Aaron chuckled. “More like a Paula Abdul.” Murphy made a face, shrugging as he met Daryl’s eyes. 

 

“You were the one who made that comparison.”

 

“Fuck you.”

 

“Rick,” Aaron said calling out to the former deputy, redirecting his attention back to the matter at hand. “Why don’t you start?”

 

Rick didn’t say anything as he half turned, looking at the members of his family. They all looked fierce as they stood guarding each other’s backs, weapons at the ready. The groaning of a lone walker as it made it’s way towards the gates caught his attention. 

 

“Sasha.” That was all the woman needed for her to turn around, take quick aim and dispatch the walker with a lone shot to the head. Carol kept her eyes on Nicholas, watching with satisfaction as his eyes widened slightly at the accuracy of the shot. They might not follow Rick blindly, but she couldn’t help but agree with what he had done there. Nicholas knew what he was against … or at least he thought he knew. 

 

“It’s a good thing we’re here,” Rick muttered as the mesh behind the gate was rolled in, hiding them from other walkers as Aaron started to slowly lead the group away from the entry. They were meeting Deanna as a family, a united front as they pleaded their case. 

 

It was time to stop surviving and start living. It was  _ their  _ time now.

 

-.-.-.

 

Deanna was nothing like they had expected her to be. 

 

As they all stood in front of a house Daryl had never imagined he would be allowed to even work at, the whole group just shuffled closer together. They might not have had their weapons drawn but they were all tense. There was a certain ‘Stepford Wives’ feel to the whole thing that just irked him, and made him want to grab onto Carol and never let go. 

 

He knew what was coming, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. 

 

It was like a switch had been turned on, the moment the small petite woman walked out of the house; Carol,  _ their  _ Carol, was suddenly gone and in her place was someone who was all shy smiles and polite chuckles. If he didn’t know better he would have been deeply unsettled. But it was all part of their own plan, and he needed to stick with it. 

 

“Welcome,” the small woman, Deanna, said as she stood on top of the stairs which lead to the side of the house they had been led to. “Welcome to Alexandria.”

 

Daryl thought himself to be a good judge of character, as he had told Andrea back in the beginning, they needed to be observant. And while Nicholas had rubbed him the wrong way from the moment the man had set eyes on his family, he just knew this Deanna person - just like Aaron - was the real deal. 

 

“I’m Deanna, and I take it you’re Rick?” There was a smile on her face, one that came too quickly but it didn’t seem fake. “Aaron told me about you just briefly, and I would like to get to know all of you better in a moment.”

 

She was smiling at them, but no one but Carol returned her gesture. She looked awkwardly at them for a moment, before clapping her hands and turning to Rick. “I would like to start with you, if it’s to your liking?”

 

Rick squinted his eyes at her, giving her a sharp nod as he passed Judith to Carl. He met Daryl’s eyes briefly as he started following Deanna back towards the inside of her home. They were to be ready in case anything happened to him. They were to be ready in case the other shoe dropped. 

 

“She reminds me of Mrs. O'Sullivan ,” Connor muttered as he moved to sit on the stone edge that limited some space for planting flowers, pulling Carol to sit on his lap. He glared at Murphy as his brother started snickering as he stood in front of them. “Shut up.”

 

“Wasn’t Mrs. O'Sullivan whom you had a crush on when we were kids?” Murphy’s smirk was contagious, and even Daryl - who had sat himself by Connor - was struggling not to smile. “He would get us in trouble so we could be sent to her office so he could check her out.”

 

“Slander, my love.” Carol shook her head as she felt Connor kiss her neck. “There has never been anyone but you.”

 

“Awwww, we don’t know each other yet, but please let me tell you that’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard someone say to their partner.” Murphy grunted in acknowledgment, so alike Daryl that Carol couldn’t help but smirk, as they turned to the owner of the voice that had made that comment. 

 

“Thank you,” Carol said bashfully, as she looked at Connor, her heart in her eyes. “That’s just how my Cookie is, romantic to the bone.” 

 

The woman gave Carol a bright smile, blushing as she met the boys eyes. “I’m Olivia,” she said as she pushed her glasses up before extending her hand to Carol first.

 

“I’m Carol,” she answered taking her hand and shaking it softly. “This is my husband Connor. His brothers Daryl and Murphy; and our kids Mika and Zach.”

 

Connor hid a smile against Carol’s neck as she purposely didn’t specify who the father of their kids was, nor did she say that his brothers were not really ‘in laws’. They had a role to play, and even if it pained them, there were going to stick to it. 

 

“I’m sure you’re going to like it here.” She was too cheery for Daryl’s liking, who didn’t take his eyes off her until Mika pinched him on his side. “There are a few kids about the same age as yours.”

 

“I’m not a kid anymore,” Zach muttered under his breath, making Murphy snicker. 

 

“Zachary! Don’t be rude to this kind lady. I thought I taught you better than that!” Connor admonished Zach,  shaking his head as if he truly was disappointed in him. “Now, say you’re sorry to the nice lady.”

 

Carol had to turn her head to look at Daryl as she tried to control the laughter threatening to burst through as she heard Zach apologize to Olivia. 

 

“It’s alright,” the women added softly as she started to push the cart, she had been bringing with her, further in. “It’s nice to see people teaching the younger generation to treat elders properly, thank you.”

 

Connor winked at Zach as he glared at him behind Olivia’s back. “You’re enjoying this way too much, Cookie.” Carol’s voice in his ear made Connor shudder, his arms around her waist tightening at the sensations she was causing. 

 

“I’m just following your plan, my love.”

 

“I’m gonna fucking kick you out of bed, you twat,” Murphy growled as he slapped Connor in the back, feeling his body tense in pain while looking innocently around the courtyard. 

 

“Fucker,” Connor muttered, winking at his brother as he kissed the back of Carol’s neck. 

 

“Seems like no one else is playing the friendly card,” Daryl said, his hand moving till he was touching the side of Carol’s which was lying on top of her rifle. “No one but you.”

 

They looked silently as Olivia tried to engage first Maggie, and then Rosita, but getting no response from either of them. 

 

“We need to find a balance,” Carol said, her voice low enough to be only for them. “For them to respect us, but at the same time to not fear us.”

 

The sound of the door of Deanna’s house opening had everyone getting to their feet and walking closer to the porch. Rick walked out first, glaring at everyone, but not murderously … which sadly was a difference they were all well versed in. 

 

Without a word, Rick pulled out his gun putting it on the cart Olivia had dragged in. Carl gave his father a nod, following his example and starting to disarm himself. One by one they all followed his example. 

 

“They’re still your guns, you can check them out whenever you go beyond the walls,” Deanna said as she walked down the steps to stand next to Olivia. “But inside here, we store them for safety.”

 

Abraham had no intentions of being anything but last, so Daryl moved before him taking out the one lone gun he kept on the back of his pants dropping it on top of the others. Zach followed, as did Murphy. 

 

Carol and Connor came last. With a shy smile, Carol first put the gun she kept on the back of her pants on the cart, before wincing as she started to pull the rifle over her shoulder. 

 

“Let me help, love,” Connor murmured, as he carefully took off the rifle strap over her shoulders putting both his guns and the rifle on Olivia’s cart. The two women shared a soft smile as Connor pulled Carol back into his arms with care. 

 

Abraham finally moved to drop his rifle, giving Rick a nod they all knew meant he was behind their leader. That if Rick was doing this after having spoken with Deanna once, then there had been something which had convinced their leader to at least try and give the community a chance. 

 

“Should have brought another bin,” Olivia jokingly said as she started to pull the bin towards the exit. The joke was met with a chuckle from Carol and Mika, but otherwise silence from the rest of the group. 

 

Rick gave Carol a questioning look, shaking his head at the smile the older woman gave him as a response. 

 

“I would like to continue with Carl,” Deanna said, giving the boy a welcoming smile, “so we can have the two of you free for Aaron to show you to what will become your home.”

 

“Will Mika have to go through it as well?” Connor asked, his arm around Mika’s shoulders. 

 

“I would like for her to do it, but just as I would like for Carl to do the interview with his little sister … maybe Zach and Mika can too?”

 

Connor and Carol nodded and watched as Deanna led Carl inside. As soon as the door was closed, and they were apparently alone, the whole group conferred around Rick.

 

“We keep close, she’s not asking anything out of the ordinary. Just don’t fuck this up.”

 

“If he didn’t do it, then I reckon we’ll be alright,” Murphy muttered only for his brothers ears. 

 

Rick looked at the closed door his son and daughter had gone through, anxious at not having them in his sights. “I’ll go ahead and let Aaron take us to where we’re settling in, once Carl comes out.”

 

With everyone’s agreement, all they had to do was wait. Wait and see what Deanna would grill them about, and to see if she would deem them valuable enough for her growing community. 

 

“What if she seems me as too wild for them?” Daryl asked Carol a few minutes later, as they had returned to their previous places while waiting for Carl to be finished. 

 

“If you go, we’ll all go,” Carol answered, as he pushed his hand away from his mouth as he started to bite the side of his thumb. His nervous tick they had all been trying to get him to stop doing. “There’s no way we’ll ever be somewhere you’re not, baby boy.”

 

Daryl gave Carol a side smile, itching to pull her into his arms, but knowing it would be best for all of them if he didn’t . It was a brilliant plan, for her to go ‘undercover’, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. 

 

“Carol?” Deanna’s voice made them all look at where she was standing on top of the porch as Carl - with Judith in his arms - descended the stairs. “Do you want to be next? So the kids can go after you?”

 

“Of course,” Carol answered, getting off Connor’s lap, squeezing his hand as she gave them a look which clearly meant they’d better behave. “I’m sure we’ll be done quickly, if we’re honest. I’m…”

 

Daryl could only shake his head and chuckle together with his brothers as they heard Carol’s voice become quieter as she allowed herself to be led in by the shorter woman. 

 

“Fucking menace, that’s what she is.”

 

“Amen, brother.” 

 

-.-.-

 

“So Carol,” Deanna began as she sat on the couch after turning on the camcorder. “Who were you before all this started? What did you do in the old world?”

 

“I was a stay at home mom…” Carol started, shyly looking down as she picked at a hole in her pants. “I did the laundry, cooked, took care of the garden …” She looked up, giving Deanna a smile. “People think the boys are all tough and mean because of the tattoos, but there’s nothing Connor loves more than for us to be able to sit around and have a family dinner.”

 

“I assure you, I do not judge based on looks. I know to look beyond that.”

 

“Thank you,” Carol grinned at the older woman. “Some people immediately think they’re bad guys because of how the look, but they are the sweetest and most attentive guys you’ll ever meet. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.”

 

“They protected you through all this?”

 

Carol nodded her head, still smiling. “They’ve protected me since before … my first husband wasn’t a very good man.”

 

“Oh,” Deanna said, giving Carol a sad smile. “And they ... “

 

“Yes.”

 

“I’m glad you have them in that case. Carol …” Deanna leaned forward in interest. “Where do you think you’ll fit in?”

 

“I would like to help with the community. Do you have anything like junior league? We were all very involved with our local church back before all this happened ...”

 

Carol’s smile grew as she watched Deanna’s reaction. Hook, line and sinker. 

 

.-.-

 

The feel of hot water running down her back, had Carol almost moaning in pleasure. It had been over a year since they had been at the CDC, over a year since she had last felt the pleasure of hot water running down her body. 

 

She knew she shouldn’t take long, people were going to be done with their own interviews soon enough. Mika - who she had left settled with Carl, Judith and Zach after they had finished their own showers - could need her for something while she took her time … but it just felt soo good. 

 

The water pressure was a dream, the big waterfall showerhead from the main bathroom of the house she had found Rick in, was something she had never even dreamt of having. A house like the one she was in, had been something she might have coveted at some point, but something she always knew she would never have. 

 

The apocalypse didn’t care about capitalism it seemed. 

 

The touch of rough calloused hands on her stomach made Carol jump startle initially, the sound of the water falling around her having hidden the noises of the door opening and the man behind her undressing. But she knew, just by the way he was hugging her to him, by the feel of his chest against her back… by the feel look of the tattoos on his hands, who exactly was plastered against her back. 

 

“Murphy,” Carol moaned, as one of his hands moved down towards her center while his other one gripped one of her breasts with just the right amount of pressure for it to cause that mixture of pain and pleasure she sometimes loved to feel. One of her hands moved to grab at his ass, squeezing his buttock strong enough to get a hiss from Murphy as her nails made indentations on his skin as his fingers rubbed over her clit. 

 

“You smell heavenly,” Murphy muttered against her neck as he licked the side of her neck. His left hand squeezed her nipple, as he entered her with one finger as he rubbed his hard on against her ass. “You feel -”

 

“Murph,” Carol brokenly moaned as for a moment she forgot the big cast on her free hand as she moved it to try and grab her Murphy by the hair, letting out a mix of a chuckle and a moan as Murphy added a second finger. “Sorry.”

 

“It’s okay, love,” Murphy whispered against her ear as he carefully pushed her forward, until he was under the spray while Carol was pressed against the wall. “I don’t know what feels more heavenly ... your cunt around my fingers, your body against mine or the hot water.”

 

Carol snorted, bowing her head back so she could turn her head to meet his eyes. “The water … but maybe your cock in me will top that.”

 

“Fuck,” Murphy moaned as he pulled his fingers out moving one of his hands to grip his cock, turning Carol around with the other one. “I’m not going to last long.”

 

“I don’t care,” Carol said as she raised her arms to circle Murphy’s neck, pulling him in for a kiss as he used his free hand to raise her leg so he could position himself before starting to push in slowly. “Faster.”

 

Murphy’s words failed him as he let go of his cock, using his now free hand to grab Carol’s other leg before pushing her against the wall. Carol let out a loud moan as she felt him bottom out, the feeling of his chest against hers as his cock filled her feeling heavenly. 

 

“Faster,” Carol ordered him, her nails scratching down Murphy’s back as she slammed her head against the wall when he didn’t follow her instructions. “Murphy,” Carol sneered as she grabbed the back of his hair, pulling until she got him to unlatch from her neck to look her in the eyes. “I said faster!”

 

Murphy whimpered in pleasure as Carol pulled his hair, nodding as he started pumping his hips faster, just as his wife had ordered. Whimpering again, with each gasp of pleasure he was able to wrangle from her, Carol pulled at his hair in response. 

 

“Please,” Murphy begged as he dropped one of his hands from Carol’s thigh to sneak it between them. “Please come.”

 

Carol pulled at his hair once again, her breath taken away as Murphy pressed his thumb against her clit as he circled his cock with the rest of his fingers triggering her orgasm. Murphy continued muttering and pleading as he felt her cunt twitch around him, finally allowing himself to come, Carol nibbling at the side of his neck as she started to come down from her own orgasm. 

 

The water was still hot as he pulled out of her. 

 

-.-.-.

 

“So you and Murphy are twins?” Daryl shook his head as he looked at the titles of the books Deanna kept on her bookshelf, the possum he had caught outside the gates still gripped by the tail as if it was a safety blanket. 

 

“Triplets.”

 

Silence fell upon them as Daryl continued to pace from one side to the other, stopping just long enough to touch a trinket or read a title before he started doing it all over again. 

 

“Daryl,” Deanna made a pause as she waited for the man to look at her. “Do you want to be here?”

 

“Family is here, where they go I follow.”

 

“Is that it?”

 

Daryl shrugged. “Carol and Mika, they deserve a roof. A place where they can sleep without being afraid.”

 

“You care a lot about your brother’s wife.”

 

“They’re family, and family is everything.”

 

-.-.-

 

Daryl was glaring at his brother as he exited the house, still clutching the damned possum as he sat on the top stair of the porch. 

 

“You know, if you went in where people can’t see you … you wouldn’t have to keep this act of grumpy asshole you’re playing.”

 

“Fuck off,” Daryl grumbled as he opened his legs, putting the possum on the floor as his hand moved to grab his knife. 

 

“Declan, don’t you dare,” Carol’s stern voice made Daryl stop midway as he was about to stab the possum’s belly with his knife. “Don’t do it on the front porch, do it on the sidewalk where I can clean it up more easily.”

 

Daryl raised his head, hiding his eyes behind his long hair only to give Carol a small smile. Carol winked at him quickly as she reached the banister next to where Mika was standing next to Carl. 

 

“Did you have a good shower?” Carl asked, a smirk on his face as he looked from Murphy to Carol. 

 

“Definitely better than yours, punk.”

 

Carol blushed, pushing Carl over Mika’s head as the teenager started snickering. “Shut it, deputy. I’ll make sure to ask Zach to get me itching powder for your clothing next time he leaves the walls.”

 

“Oh wow. Who are you? And what did you do with Sheriff Dick?” Everyone turned to look at the front door, as Connor stood there, hair still wet as he looked with wonder at a clean shaven Rick Grimes. 

 

“Shut up,” Rick grumbled as he hid what appeared to be the beginnings of a smile on Judith’s short hair. 

 

“No, but really… takes like 10 years from you… and like half the crazy.”

 

Rick shot a look at Carl as he heard his son try to stifle his snickers. “Go, have a look.” Carl didn’t need to be told twice, jumping off the porch with Mika and Zach fast on his heels as they trotted towards the house next door. 

 

“How were your interviews?” Rick asked, as he swayed Judith from side to side. 

 

“Good.”

 

“Good.” 

 

Connor entwined his fingers with Carol’s as they stood side by side. The sound of laughter from kids and dogs barking feeling strange after everything they had gone through. 

 

“We will be okay, I can feel it.” Carol nodded as Connor pulled her close. Her eyes meeting Daryl’s as he sat on the steps. She really hoped they would she needed them to be. 

 

-.-.-.

 

“You need to shower,” Carol mumbled against Daryl’s neck, as she sat on one of the couches with Murphy at one side and Daryl at the other. They had spent what was left of the day in the house Rick had deemed they were all sleeping in for the night. Daryl had refused to go in until after night came, and Carol had been itching to be able to touch him and cuddle to him since then. 

 

Daryl grunted, as he breathed Carol in. It had been a little over a day and he felt like he was drowning. He hadn’t realized how Carol’s soft touches calmed him down, how much he needed her touches while in her presence until he was not allowed to have them. “I don’t.”

 

“You smell like ass,” Murphy mumbled from where he was sitting on Carol’s other side reading a book. “And not the good kind of ass.”

 

“And pray tell me, Murphy, which is the good kind of ass?” Carol asked, turning to settle her back against Daryl as she looked at the other brother.

 

“Only yours, my dear.”

 

“You’re so full of shit,” Daryl grumbled, chuckling as he kissed the side of Carol’s head. “Full of shit.”

 

“But at least I got her full of -”

 

“Mika!” Carol interrupted Murphy before he was able to continue taunting his brother knowing Daryl was strung up as tight as his bow, and not wanting to deal with blood that night. “Everything okay?”

 

“Thank you,” Daryl murmured against her ear as the little girl approached them and took all of Murphy’s attention. 

 

Carol said nothing, patting the hand he had moved to rest over her belly as she watched her family settle down for the night. The two houses were huge, but even with that, she wasn’t sure they would all fit in once Rick deemed them safe enough to spread out. They had decided the kids were to stay together, in case of an emergency, so much to Murphy’s chagrin they were going to remain roommates with Rick and his family. 

 

At least Rick had, without prompt from them, told them to take the master bedroom once it was deemed safe. Carol couldn’t help but wish it was tomorrow already, the California king bed of the master bedroom calling for her and her boys. 

 

“Look at that,” Connor murmured as he moved to sit on the floor in front of Carol, tilting his head towards were Michonne was coming out of the bathroom, a flirty smile on her face as she talked with Rick. “Didn’t see that coming … and I’ve been with them since the prison.”

 

“She loves those kids as if they were her own.” Connor rested his head against Carol’s knees as her hand started running through his hair. “It wouldn’t surprise me if it happened.”

 

“But what about Andrea?” Daryl asked softly, the idea of loving more than one person that way, one which was completely unimaginable to him. “Wasn’t she like ...”

 

“In love with her?” Carol finished for him when he apparently was at a loss for words. 

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Maybe it could be rebound, maybe it’s just an itch … after all, a girl needs some loving once in awhile.” Daryl snickered as Carol turned her face towards him, wiggling her eyebrows up and down.

 

“I’ll show you, lov-”

 

A knock on the door stopped Daryl from finishing his sentence . Immediately, everyone’s knives out and ready as Daryl jumped to his feet, putting himself between the door and where Carol and Mika were. 

 

It was only Deanna, checking up on them. Her knowing look making Carol feel like they hadn’t been as smart as they had thought they were. But they couldn’t let their guards down now; they weren’t part of the community yet. 

 

Hopefully that would change soon. 

 

As Deanna spoke, Daryl got tired and dropped himself by Carol once again. Further away than he had been before, keeping appearances always. 

 

“Everybody said you gave them jobs,” Rick said, looking at everyone before returning his questioning gaze on Deanna again. 

 

“Mhhm. Part of this place.” Carol noticed how Daryl had tensed up beside her at Deanna’s words, and she longed to be able to take his hand and ask him what was wrong. He had closed himself off while the sun was up and he was outside. It had taken a long time for him to feel comfortable around them back at the beginning, she just hoped it didn’t take him that long this time around. “Looks like the communists won after all.”

 

No one shared Deanna’s humor. “You didn’t give me one,” Rick said, as he rested his weight against the door slightly. 

 

“I have. I just haven’t told you yet.” Deanna smiled before looking beyond Rick to Michonne. “Same with Michonne. I’m closing in with something for Sasha … And I’m just trying to figure Mr. Dixon out, but I will.”

 

“Good luck with that,” Murphy muttered, loud enough for Deanna to hear and smile as Daryl glared at his brother. 

 

“Looks good.” Deanna’s parting words left a smile on Connor’s face. He couldn’t wait to give Rick shit over the words of the older woman. The moment Rick closed the door behind her, the brothers busted into teasing snickers. 

 

“Go for it, Sheriff,” Connor said as he stood up to help Mika arrange the blankets which would be serving as  her bed for the night. “We can get something extra if you enamour the Madam Major.”

 

“Shut up, Connor!”

 

-.-.-.-.

 

“Go to sleep, Declan,” Connor murmured as he raised his head in the middle of the night, only to see Daryl still sitting on the window seat looking towards the dark night. “You need it, brother.”

 

“Nah,” Daryl said softly, looking longingly at where Murphy and Carol were sleeping together on the couch. “I’m good.”

 

With a grunt Connor got off the floor, from the pallet he had made for himself and moved to sit besides Daryl. “Go.” Connor’s voice was soft as he took the knife from Daryl’s hand. “Get some sleep, I’ll keep watch.”

 

“I’m good,” Daryl tried to protest, only to feel Connor dropping a kiss to the back of his head before he pushed him of the seat. “Fucker.”

 

“You’ll love me tomorrow when you don’t look like a walker.”

 

Connor couldn’t hide the grin on his face as he heard Daryl’s breathing deepen not long after, the snores of their family surrounding them as they got a peaceful night of sleep for once. For the first time in a long time, the morning came too soon for Connor’s liking. 

 

Rick was the first one to wake up, on his feet as Judy started to fuss as little babies are known to do. The reflex of trying to keep her quiet - one that it was too soon to be thinking of forgetting - it had been the reason why the girl moved from one person to the other. And his daughter was magnificent, understanding that she won more by keeping quiet than by crying. Almost like she knew. 

 

Carol woke up before his brothers did, kissing Connor softly as she immediately moved to the kitchen. She didn’t even have to ask, she knew they were all hungry and she also knew how to feed them with the least worries. Connor sat in the same spot Daryl had the night before, and watched his wife make the kitchen hers. She moved so gracefully, if he didn’t know better, he would never think her ribs weren’t healed, or that they had almost lost her less than a month before.

 

“You look smitten,” Michonne said softly as she stood by his side, she too watching as Carol worked . “You have this stupid look on your face …”

 

“Well, lass ... wouldn’t you be too? Just look at that woman … and she’s my wife!” 

 

“Not all of us are lucky as you are, mate.” Connor snickered at Michonne’s words, finally taking his eyes off Carol to look up at his friend. 

 

“You’ll get there, I’m sure of it.”

 

“Mama! Connor is flirting with Michonne behind your back!” Zach called loudly from where he was still sitting on top of his pallet. 

 

“I would never; how dare you?!” Connor asked, getting to his feet and making his way towards the young adult. Making sure he kicked both Murphy and Daryl awake as he did so. Carol hadn’t even looked away from what she was preparing, just smiling as she heard the yelps and curses from the men in her life as they started to roughhouse that morning. 

 

“And just when I thought you had been able to tame them,” Maggie said jokingly as she joined Carol, helping her prepare breakfast. 

 

“Are you kidding?” Michonne joined in, a grin on her face. “The day those three are considered tame, it’s the day I get crowned as the queen of the Apocalypse.”

 

-.-.-.-

 

“You smell like ass,” Connor grunted at Daryl as he kicked the sole of his brother’s boot. “You should shower.”

 

“Fuck off,” Daryl muttered as he continued to clean his crossbow. After Carol had cooked a breakfast big enough to feed an army, they had finally split into the two houses. 

 

Apparently it was to be ‘The Grimes-MacDixon Residence’ - a name that for some reason made Murphy snort as Tara had called them that - plus Michonne with the rest of their family in the other house. And once they were alone, Rick had decided that yes, he was not going to contest the master bedroom since it wouldn’t be fair; meanwhile Michonne invited Mika to be her roommate, to the excitement of the almost teenager. 

 

“I don’t think you’ll get to sleep on our bed if you’re still smelling like a used up whore house.” Daryl kicked his brother in the shins, as he tried to not blush at the reference. 

 

“What’s a whore house, daddy?” Mika innocently asked, looking up at Connor as she appeared out of nowhere, taking his hand in hers. 

 

“Something you should never ever tell your mom I said in front of you,” Connor answered in stride, as Daryl coughed, choking on his own spit. 

 

“Are you ready, princess?” Connor asked Mika, not paying attention to a red faced Daryl who was still thumping on his chest trying to breathe again. “Don’t want you to be late for our first day of school, do we?”

 

It wasn’t until then that Daryl noticed what Connor was actually wearing. White button down, perfectly pressed with his sleeves rolled up just under his elbows showing his celtic cross tattoo in all its glory; khakis with a matching belt, and proper shoes. “You look like an asshole.”

 

“Well, you smell like one so no one will forget we’re brothers.” Connor kicked Daryl’s boot once again, in his own way telling his brother to take care. “Say goodbye to uncle Daryl.” Connor’s smile widened at the glare Daryl gave him as he instructed Mika. 

 

“See you later, Papa Bear,” Mika said after having dropped on her knees by Daryl, kissing his cheek softly. “You do smell though.”

 

“Bugger off,” Daryl said, a smirk on his face as he watched the two of them walk down the porch steps to the street. The sound of people coming in and out of what was deemed their houses lulled him into a state of calm as he continued to fumble with his crossbow once again. 

 

Deanna had given him a look as he silently refused to allow anyone to touch his precious weapon. In the end, just like their knives, it was deemed unnecessary for them to turn them in. Not that they would have stayed if the Alexandrians had forced the issue . 

 

With a sigh Daryl set his crossbow aside, his hands over his bent knees as he rested his head against the wood behind him. He felt as if his skin was itching, and if he was honest he wasn’t sure if it was all the grime he still had on; or if it was this place making him feel like thousands of ants were crawling under his skin. 

 

The sound of the door opening had him looking up, hoping to see Carol, but finding Rick instead. Carl had, with Tara’s help, set off with Judith in a stroller they had found outside of their door that morning; and although not looking quite settled, Rick certainly looked calmer than the day before. 

 

“We should all go and explore.”

 

“Nah,” Daryl said breaking eye contact, looking at his boots. “I rather stay here.”

 

“Alright,” Rick said nodding, barely able to get out of the way as Snake sped past him to jump on top of Daryl, trying to lick his face. 

 

“Get off, you mutt!” Daryl grumbled as he pushed the dog down, throwing his arms around his neck and burrowing his face on his recently cleaned fur. The dog, like everyone else, had been cleaned thoroughly and smelled fresh. 

 

Rick chuckled at the sight of Daryl, that same redneck who had thrown those squirrels at him less than two years ago was whispering things to the one eyed dog which had apparently adopted them.  

 

“Lori and I ...” Rick stopped next to a wooden post, resting his shoulder against it as he looked towards the perfectly mowed gardens and the people walking their dogs like the world hadn’t ended. “We used to drive through neighborhoods like this, thinking one day ... “

 

Daryl shared a bittersweet smile with his friend. Lori’s death had hit them all pretty hard, the memories of the woman who had gone through so much in such little time still made all of them hurt. “Well,” Daryl said, his raspy voice getting Rick to come back to the present, “here we are, with 2.4 kids and a fucking dog.”

 

Rick chuckled, looking towards the street and frowning when none of their family members were within his sights. “I’ll be back…”

 

“Fucking terminator,” Daryl murmured to Snake as he started play fighting with the tail wiggling dog. “Fucking Connor is getting in my head; I’m starting to think like him.”

 

“Welcome to my life.” 

 

“Why do you look like you, but Connor looked like a fucking asshole?” Daryl asked getting to his feet and walking to his brother’s side as Murphy lit a cigarette for them to share. 

 

“Because the wanker got himself a teaching job… and I’m going to break my back with the construction crew.”

 

“How the fuck that happened?” Daryl grumbled, cigarette between his lips. 

 

“Apparently Deanna doesn’t like to put families at risk.”

 

“And we’re chopped liver?”

 

“Carol’s working on the pantry, and I don’t mind that Deanna wants to keep Connor close… we don’t know yet what she’s going to have you doing and - “

 

“Yeah,” Daryl sighed, taking a long drag before passing it back. “Me too.”

 

“How are you doing, really, Decks?” Murphy turned resting his hip against the banister as he gave his brother his full attention. “I know Carol spoke with you, but are you really this miserable? Or are you playing the long con like our lovely wife?”

 

Daryl looked panicked for a moment, looking around them as if someone was going to be there just to listen to them. 

 

“It’s good, Decks.” Daryl sighed, resting his forearms against the banister and feeling as Murphy copied his position. “We all need to play our parts.”

 

“I hate pretending to be something I’m not,” Daryl whispered only for Murphy ears. “I thought I was done doing that once I found you.”

 

“And you don’t have to. They don’t like you? Fuck them! We love you, and we won’t let anyone convince us otherwise.” 

 

Murphy smiled as Daryl bumped his shoulder softly, before the two of them snorted in sync. 

 

“Now,” Murphy said as the two of them looked to the street. “I’m accompanying Carol so she can get checked over by their doctor, do you want to come with? Or do you want to stay and mope worse than Snake when he doesn’t get his way?”

 

“Fuck you.”

 

-.-.-

 

“I’m going to ask you to leave, while I look my patient over.” Both Daryl and Murphy glared at the douchey-looking doctor as he glared at them, his hand on the open door as if just waiting for them to leave before shutting it behind them. 

 

“We ain’t leaving her,” Daryl growled as he moved to sit beside Carol on the exam table, his glare making the doctor clench his jaw as he returned it. “No fucking way.”

 

Murphy didn’t say anything, but moved to sit on Carol’s other side. Like two guard dogs ready to attack at the slightest provocation. Carol barely kept herself from reaching out, her boys were tense, and she just wanted to comfort them. But the man glaring at them as he moved to stand in front of her exuded something which made her skin crawl. He wasn’t to be trusted. 

 

“What happened here?”

 

Daryl didn’t take his eyes off the doctor while they were in his office. He could feel Carol tensing beside him, and he just knew she felt as uncomfortable with the man as he did. There was something creeping under the surface, and he just knew it was nothing good. 

 

“I was in a van that fell from a bridge,” Carol mumbled, wincing as the doctor started to prod not too softly at her shoulder. “Ended up upside down, it cracked a few ribs.”

 

“And this? Did you get pinned?”

 

“She got hit by a car,” Daryl mumbled, his eyes on Carol’s cast. “Hit on the hip, flew onto the hood and then slammed to the ground.”

 

Daryl looked up, squinting his eyes as the man only made affirmative noises as he continued to prod. He felt like hitting him every time he made Carol wince, the look of warning on her face the only reason he didn’t. 

 

“Broken?”

 

Carol nodded, her healthy hand positioned on the bed between her and Daryl, as if she felt needy for the comfort his touch provided, but still aware of the long con they were trying to play.

 

“Her ribs are still hurting, even if it’s been like almost a month.” Daryl couldn’t help but throw Murphy a look, his brother looked like he was one word away from either running away or vomiting; and he wasn’t sure what was more worrisome, that he looked pale enough to have him worrying or the fact that he was actually silent for once. Murphy wasn’t known for his silence. 

 

Daryl shook his head as he returned his attention to Carol, who was looking at him together with the doctor as if they were waiting for something from him. “Sorry,” Daryl mumbled, looking away as he realized  they had apparently asked him something. 

 

“Pete was just asking if you boys could wait outside, he needs to check my ribs and he thinks I would feel more comfortable doing it privately.”  

 

“Why?” Daryl said puzzled, only to blush madly as he realized Carol would have to take off her shirt. 

 

“I don’t think your brother would appreciate you ogling his wife.” The Doctor - Pete - said off-handedly making Daryl sneer at his back when he turned. Carol just gave him a look, silently telling him to do what he was being asked to do, much to his chagrin. 

 

“Don’t-”

 

“Daryl!” 

 

Daryl just shook his head, shutting up at Carol’s command. Still shaking his head, and without saying anything else, he moved to leave the room, throwing a look to his wife over his shoulder. She was looking at Murphy with a worried look, touching his hand as his brother moved to walk past her. Daryl waited until Murphy had gone through the door before closing it behind him, following his brother as he walked all the way outside of the house which served as a clinic. 

 

“Are you going to remain fucking silent for once?” Daryl asked, as he sat on the bench set outside on the wide veranda. “‘Cause that would be one for the books.”

 

Murphy only grunted in response as he dropped himself beside Daryl. His eyes lost in something only he was seeing. The silence felt unsettling to Daryl, especially with Murphy out there with him. His identical brother just wasn’t the silent type.  Loud, boisterous, yes; silent, no.  

 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Daryl’s eyes were on the side of Murphy’s face, his brother still not meeting his eyes. It was still something which made him stop and think, seeing a face so much like his when he looked at him. Connor called it ‘monozygotic bullshit’ but there was just something about the whole thing that just clicked with them. He was close to Connor, but him and Murphy … it was different. “And don’t be a pussy and say nothing.”

 

Murphy groaned at that, dropping his head back against the wall and not even wincing when it made a loud ‘thud’ sound when he hit. “She’s been trying to hide it from us, I thought by now she would have been a lot better.”

 

Daryl shrugged. “You know how she is; she never wants to worry anyone.”

 

“But I should have known she’s not good, that she’s not doing alright.” Daryl frowned as Murphy got off the bench and started pacing in front of him. “I should have noticed she was still in pain, what if something doesn’t heal right? What if she’s in pain for the rest of her life?”

 

“Murph …”

 

“What if there’s something wrong with her? And it’s all my fault!” Daryl shook his head,making a face as he heard his brother’s words. “I was supposed to be watching her back, It’s because of me she’s hurt almost a month after Atlanta!”

 

Daryl chuckled, shaking his head as he ran a hand through his hair. 

 

“What?!” Murphy yelled, moving to stand in Daryl’s space, making his brother have to look up so he wasn’t  staring at his crotch. “Why are you fucking laughing?!”

 

“Just realizing how fucking stupid I sound when I blame everything on myself.” Murphy sneered down at his younger brother, his hands fisting at his sides. “Let it fucking go, Malachy.”

 

“Like you do?”

 

“I’m trying …” Daryl gave Murphy a sad half smile. “Just like you all told me to, that’s all you can do … try.”

 

“Fuck.”

 

“Yep.”

 

-.-.-.

 

“Is Daryl going to stay outside with Snake all night?” Michonne asked as she spied Daryl sitting on the bannister, one leg on the ground while the other was marking the previously white paint of the wood. “He’s like a feral cat, refusing to sleep inside even if they know it’s nicer.”

 

“Hush,” Carol murmured, smiling as she watched Snake get on two feet and dance in front of Daryl until her husband paid attention to him. “He’s just getting used to it.”

 

“To what? Fancy sheets and hot water?”

 

“To everything … people like us, we never think we deserve good things, nice things.” Michonne smiled slightly as she watched Carol cook, letting the woman talk and open up for once, instead of being on the receiving end of things. “After being told so many times how we’re undeserving … it’s takes time to believe it.”

 

“Well,” Connor said making both women look towards where he was standing, resting his arms on the kitchen island, his rolled up sleeves and open collar making Carol’s mouth dry up. “You better believe it now, love. You deserve more than that.” 

 

Carol smiled sweetly, kissing Connor when he made his way to her side. “He just doesn’t want to take a fucking shower, and he knows you won’t let him into our bed if he’s smelling like he is.”

 

“Told you,” Michonne said bumping shoulders with Carol, not noticing the slight wince on the older woman’s face. “Feral cat.”

 

Carol snorted, throwing the towel she had over her shoulder onto the counter and moving away from Connor’s wandering hands. “You two finish dinner, I’m going to take care of my tiger.”

 

“More like a fucking kitten in her hands.” Carol just shook her head, tossing an admonishing look at Connor over her shoulder, to which her husband just grinned in response. “Love you.”

 

The sound of the door closing behind her made Daryl look up from Snake. 

 

“Are you planning on staying out all night?” Carol asked softly as she made her way towards him, sighing as she kept herself from reaching for him when she was close enough to touch. “Dinner’s almost ready. I’m sure you’ll like it.”

 

Daryl shrugged, his blue eyes piercing as he looked at her with longing. It had been hard, keeping themselves from reaching out and touching during most of the day. They might have found each other less than a year ago, at least in this way, but it felt like he couldn’t remember a time when he was not able to just reach out and take her hand in his. 

 

“C’mon, Pookie,” Carol said as she moved to rest her back against the banister, close enough she could feel his leg against her back; but far enough which seemed appropriate in case of wandering eyes. “Come inside, have dinner, take a shower, and well …” Carol looked at Daryl from the side of her eyes, a mischievous smile on her face. “Who knows what can happen to clean boys who have been very good.”

 

Daryl swallowed hard, trying not to jump out of his skin as he felt her hand wandering up the inside of his thigh. His eyes went to her face, but she was still looking towards the house, eyes intent on whatever was happening inside. He could feel his cock stirring in his pants. 

 

“Yeah?” 

 

“Well …” Carol’s smile turned to a grin, hearing  Daryl groaned in disappointment as she dropped her hand to her side. “Just remember what happened … or well, didn’t happen last time because you were a dirty boy.”

 

The look Carol gave him before walking back inside the house had Daryl running upstairs, shedding clothing as soon as he got into their room on his way to the bathroom. Daryl Dixon took the most thorough shower of his whole life. 

 

Not even the knowing looks and teasing from his brothers, Zach, and Carl, could cause his good mood to diminish. Carol’s knowing smirks, and soft touches just made him long for it even more. They put on a show while outside their home, but behind closed doors they were allowed to be who they really were. 

 

He was allowed to be  _ her  _ Daryl. He barely put any attention to the conversation around them, only getting tidbits and whatnots as he tried to keep his eyes from fixating on his wife. She was smiling, but not like the smile he saw her give every person outside. Her smile was small, but it reached her eyes. He could feel a pang in his chest every time he saw her touch Mika’s cheek softly, ruffle Zach’s hair, or tease Carl as they went through dinner. 

 

One by one, everyone started to disappear back to their own abodes. Glenn and Maggie dropped by, before leaving towards their new home. There was a strange feeling of familiarity, but at the same time strangeness as they all prepared to wind down for the night. 

 

“Someone should keep watch,” Rick murmured as he passed Daryl, who was just coming up from the kitchen. 

 

“Can’t tonight,” Daryl answered, his eyes already on the half closed door of the master bedroom where Carol had already slipped off to. “It’s Murphy’s turn.”

 

Rick frowned as Daryl patted him on the chest once, before disappearing from his sights. The door closed behind him with a soft noise and Rick was left alone in the darkness of the hallway. Judith’s whimpers got his attention back where it was supposed to be and he hurried to comfort his daughter; he would think about Daryl’s behavior later. 

 

-.-.-.

 

Carol smirked against Daryl’s throat, a distinctive whimper crawling up from deep in his chest as her hand sneaked inside his pants, caressing the bulge of his hard cock over his briefs before biting on his neck hard enough to almost draw blood. 

 

The sounds of Connor in the shower drowned any noise coming from her Daryl and she couldn’t say she was happy with it. Safety gave them an advantage - four walls, a door with a lock, a bed and soft sheets - but she didn’t like not being able to enjoy him to the fullest.  At least the boy’s room, and Mika’s where on the other end of the house. The only person they needed to worry about was Rick, and if they were honest … none of them did.

 

“Can you hear what you do to him, love?” Murphy asked as he rubbed against Carol’s back smiling as he looked at the mess who was Daryl. “You have him ready to come just from touching him over his clothes. At least you know I’m here to pick up his slack if he comes before you do …”

 

Carol had to push against Daryl’s chest with all her strength as she felt him growl and start to move as if to try and catch his brother. Her hand on his cock, squeezing until he was whimpering in half pain half desire disarming him. 

 

“You are going to stay there,” Carol said as she pushed Murphy away, climbing on top of a dazed looking Daryl. “And you’re just going to watch, because you don’t deserve any fun tonight, not after taunting your brother.”

 

“Bossy, I like it,” Murphy said grinning as he followed her instructions, laying on his back and putting his hands entwined behind his head; his eyes never leaving Carol’s form, now straddling the half clothed Daryl. 

 

“Of course you would; you’re a fiend.”

Daryl meanwhile had not said a word. His eyes were on Carol’s face, running down her long beautiful neck down to rest on the swell of her breasts under her tank top. She had gotten rid of her bra while he had been talking with Rick; so he could see her nipples taunting him under her shirt. Begging him to touch them … to taste them. 

 

His hands had slowly started to creep up her thighs, which were now bracketing his hips. Carol’s attention finally returned to him as he slowly started to push her tank top up, needing to uncover her chest for him. The mischievous smile she gave him as their eyes met, making him swallow. 

 

“Look what we have here,” Carol murmured, moving her hips in small circles feeling Daryl’s turgid cock through his sleep pants. “Did you do as I asked?” 

 

Daryl had no words, only nodding as he got the go ahead from Carol to get rid of her shirt in the manner of her raising her arms to allow him to sit up and pull it off. 

 

“Did you wash everywhere?”

 

Daryl nodded again. His hands finding the sheets under him as suddenly Carol was no longer sitting on top of his erection, but like magic she was straddling his knees as she pushed his shirt up to uncover his stomach with her nose, dropping kisses along the way; while her hand was inside his underwear taking his erection out of its confinement. 

 

The sound of the shower cut off, and Daryl could barely stop himself from moaning loud enough to be heard outside as Carol’s mouth engulfed his thick hard cock. 

 

“Son of a bitch,” Daryl moaned, one hand moving to grasp the back of Carol’s head as she continued to slowly go up and down his cock, while the other bunched up the sheets on his side. Daryl felt his back arch as Carol’s tongue teased the underside, panting as she moved on leaving him just on the brink of madness. 

 

“You’re such a tease,” Murphy said, a look of wonder on his face as he rested on his side watching as his wife gave his brother pleasure. “I’m pretty sure he’s about to be undone.”

 

Carol didn’t even notice when Daryl’s hand left the back of her head to punch his brother aimlessly. She did notice though, Murphy yelping in pain as he toppled over the side of the bed and onto the floor; Carol patted Daryl’s thigh, a little whine passing his parted lips when she dropped his cock from her mouth to look over the edge of the bed to the disgruntled looking Murphy.

 

“You deserve it for teasing him.” She didn’t even wait to get an answer from Murphy before she was back between Daryl’s thighs, hand around his cock and mouth open ready to take him all the way in. Daryl closed his eyes, feeling his stomach tense as he felt her moist breath tease over him. 

 

“Carol … I’m going to -”

 

“Mama Carol!” The knob rattled softly as Mika’s little voice was heard from the hallway. She was whispering, but just loud enough for her voice to travel inside their room. “Mama Carol?” 

 

“You should put that away,” Connor said pointing at Daryl’s erection, as he walked from where he had been silently watching them - the door to the bathroom - towards their locked door behind where Mika was knocking timidly. “You’re going to take someone’s eye out.”

 

Daryl quickly scrambled to pull his pants over his cock, his hands and Carol’s slapping each other’s as they both tried to do the same thing at the same time. Murphy, meanwhile, was muffling his laughter against a pillow after having climbed back onto the bed already. 

 

“Hey, princess,” Connor said softly, opening the door just a smidge, putting his body between himself and anything Mika might see. There was a smile on his face, which disappeared the moment he saw Mika’s wide scared eyes. 

 

“Is Mama Carol here?” Her voice was small, and it just broke his heart. It was sometimes easy to forget how young she really was at ten, they had never stopped to consider things like nightmares and bad dreams when the rooms assignments were given. 

 

“Did you have a nightmare, love?” Connor asked, looking over his shoulder briefly before he crouched to be able to look her in the eyes. 

 

“Yeah,” Mika mumbled, her eyes looking over Connor’s head searching for Carol. “And Michonne wasn’t there when I woke up.”

 

Connor sighed, smiling softly at their little girl before getting to his feet and opening the door fully in a silent invitation for her to come in. He closed the door behind her, as the little girl ran to the bed, climbing up and snuggling close to Carol in a blink of an eye. 

 

“Sorry, Decks,” Connor murmured, looking abashed at the look on his brother’s face. He loved to torture him, he was the older brother for a reason, but as much crap as he liked to give them … he also knew when they were close to losing it. And Daryl was definitely not having a good time since they had gotten there.  “How about this, squirt?” Connor asked Mika, grabbing her by the waist and throwing her softly towards were Murphy was resting. “We let Mama Carol and Declan here go brush their teeth, while we try to figure out how we’re all going to fit in this big bed?”

 

Daryl could have kissed his brother when he gave them an out. His hand found Carol’s, snatching it in his and pulling her gently, but quickly towards the bathroom. The door had barely been closed when she had pushed him onto the closed toilet seat and was already dropping to her knees. 

 

It was fast, and it was dirty; with only his hand to cover his mouth to keep his noises from reaching the innocent ears right next door. Carol knew he had been close, but she made sure he didn’t last. Daryl didn’t even get to give her a warning when he was already coming inside her mouth. 

 

“Well,” Carol said as she used his knees as support to climb to her feet, “I guess I do need to brush my teeth after all.” 

 

Daryl was still blushing as he spooned Carol later that night. He somehow woke up with Mika’s feet on his face. 

 

-.-.-.

 

“Time to punch the clock and make the casseroles.”

 

“What?” Daryl grunted, not looking up from where he was cleaning - for the seventh time since they’d gotten there - his crossbow. 

 

“I start working today, Pookie,” Carol said, smiling as she started to approach her archer. “And you should try some of those new clothes I left for you in our room.”

 

“And look like an asshole like Connor does?” Daryl snorted, finally looking up to see her dressed in something which looked nothing like his Carol would ever wear. “The fuck?”

 

“Got to keep up pretenses, even you …”

 

“Never had before, don’t know why I have to start now,” Daryl grumbled, leaving his crossbow to the side and crossing his arms over his chest. “You working so soon?”

 

“I’m hurt, Daryl, not an invalid … and anyway -” Carol gave him one of her fake upbeat smiles which made his stomach churn. “Old people have to eat, mom’s who need a break. It’s a great way to meet the neighbors.”

 

“We don’t need no neighbors.” Carol shook her head, giving Daryl a look as he started biting the side of his thumb. “What?”

 

She slowly made her way to him, looking around as she finally reached him. They were alone in the house, there was no one around. “Stop it,” Carol murmured as she moved her hand to take his away from his mouth. “No harming what’s mine, you hear me?”

 

Daryl swallowed as he felt his blood run straight to his cock, sighing as with a smirk, she moved back; dropping his hand from hers before pulling her cardigan tighter around her. “Take off that vest, go change into clean clothes. That’s an order, Declan.” She smirked, seeing him swallow as she started to walk down the stairs. “If you don’t I’m going to hose you down. Remember, I know where you sleep!”

 

“You look ridiculous!” Carol’s smile grew into a real one as she heard Daryl yell behind her. 

 

The rest of his day was spent grunting and glaring at people who passed by their house, more of a guard dog than even Snake was. Their mutt had spent all day by his side, in a way, helping him stay calm enough inside the strange walls. Connor and Mika weren’t due to finish their school day until two and Murphy was sure to be out with the construction crew until five. 

 

His only companion was Carl, who had chosen to stay in instead of going out to mingle like everybody else. The boy was finally being able to act like a proper teenager, and was currently brooding over something while surrounded by comic books in his room. 

 

The only reason Daryl noticed it was early afternoon was because of all the growling of his stomach. One would believe after spending all that time out in the wild, with barely anything to eat, his stomach would have gotten used to it.  But it was like it just knew they had food now. Food, fresh water, a roof, and fences. Everything he wanted for his family. 

 

The day was nice, and knowing Carol was probably going to forget to eat, throwing herself into doing the thing she does best; taking care of everyone but herself. So he decided to use the little culinary knowledge he had, making a mean tuna salad, and taking it in a tupperware to the the house they used for their pantry. He was sure he had heard someone mention it served as a communal kitchen. 

 

He was a man on a mission, with the tupperware of salad in one hand and his crossbow in the other, Daryl set out to do what he had set his mind on. He was sure his brothers would give him hell for it, before later grumbling on why they hadn’t thought  about it when Carol mentioned it to them in the future. It wasn’t because of what he could get out of it that he did it, but he knew his wife would love the gesture. And a happy wife meant a happy Daryl. 

 

“-I might just be saying, but I just have to say I think your husband is the best looking out of the three brothers.” Daryl stopped at the open garage door of the pantry, frowning as he heard just the end of Olivia’s sentence. 

 

“Awww.” There was Carol’s voice, jumping in her boys defense - not that Olivia had any idea that they were all  _ her  _ boys. “Murphy and Daryl are equally handsome - “ both women stopped to giggle, making Daryl roll his eyes, “no, but really they are just as sweet and amazing as Connor is.”

 

“I guess your brothers in law do have a certain _ je ne sais quoi  _ about them.” Daryl squared his shoulders, taking a deep breath as he raised his hand to knock on the side of the garage to make his presence known. “Especially Daryl. He’s very handsome in a scary way.” His hands didn’t seem to work properly at hearing those words from Olivia, choosing to drop the tupperware instead of knocking. 

 

The damned thing decided to not stay close and his tuna salad was a mess on the floor by the time Carol and Olivia reached him. He was sure he was tomato red, and he couldn’t help but facepalm when he met Carol’s eyes. She knew what had happened, and he was never going to live it down. Never. 

 

“Oh my!” Olivia said as she moved to take one of the reusable clothes they used to keep the dust at bay. “You should really be more careful with your thing,” Olivia babbled nervously as she knelt to clean up his mess … “I mean your crotch,” Olivia said raising her eyes, and looking directly at Daryl’s crotch, “I meant penis … no!” Olivia was as red as Daryl was, looking away and pushing her glasses up as she continued to clean. “With your salad … I meant be more careful with your salad.”

 

Daryl felt like he couldn’t breathe. Olivia was still kneeling almost in front of him and when he dared to look at Carol … his wife was turning purple from lack of air as she tried not to even breathe because he knew if she did, she would start laughing. 

 

“Gonna go,” Daryl mumbled as he turned on his heel and practically ran away from the garage, hearing Carol call out his name, but not stopping to wait for her. He was so embarrassed, that woman had stared right at his crotch, and said those things! With his wife not five feet away! 

 

“Daryl!” He hadn’t noticed he had stopped, nor had he noticed he was breathing hard and was feeling slightly dizzy. He felt as Carol - because even if he wasn’t looking at her he knew her touch like he knew no other - took his hand, using it to pull him to the small space between two of the houses. Away from prying eyes, and for a moment, Daryl was still not thinking about it’s implications, too embarrassed by what had happened to think about having his wife away from Alexandrian eyes. 

 

“I’m sorry, Pookie,” Carol said softly, a smile on her face as she turned to look at him. “I shouldn’t have laughed.”

 

Daryl looked away from her, his blush starting to come down, but still feeling like he couldn’t meet her eyes. His hand immediately went to his mouth, a sign of his social anxiety that Carol well knew meant he was on edge. Instead of slapping the hand away, as Connor tended to do whenever he caught either Daryl or Murphy doing it, Carol tenderly took it in hers, bringing it to her lips biting on his thumb softly with a cheeky smile on her face. 

 

His eyes immediately met hers when he felt her do so. The look on her face was enough to finally wrench a snort from him as he used his free arm to put it around her shoulders, bringing her close. 

 

“I’m sorry for laughing.”

 

“I’m sorry for being a little bitch that can’t take a joke.”

 

“But well,” Carol teased as she moved from where she had been resting her head against his chest to be able to look at him, “Olivia’s right, you are handsome in a scary way.”

 

Daryl snorted, though it was cut short as Carol rose on her tiptoes to kiss him. Her cast heavy against his chest as her other hand dropped his, moving instead to grasp the back of his head. Their little makeout session was only cut short by the yells from the gate. The run team was back.

 

“Come on, Decks,” Carol said as she moved back, hand finding his again. “Let’s go see how our kid did.”

 

“Your kid,” Daryl grumbled, dropping Carol’s hand as they were about to leave the space between houses and using that hand to try and take his hair at once. “He hasn’t been mine since we got here.”

 

Carol smiled hip decking him as they made their way down the street towards the gate. They hurried their pace when they noticed Glenn’s angry stride. Their friend was usually the calmest one of them all, if he was mad … then problems were definitely brewing. 

 

Their gazes searched for Zach next, both of their chests unclenching as they saw him looking angry, but standing calmly with Noah and Tara. Something had happened out there, something none of them liked. 

 

“You better look for another gig,” Aiden - Deanna’s kid - yelled at Glenn as they all started to walk towards where Carol and Daryl were approaching them. “Hey! Hey!” Daryl started to trot down the street as he saw the boy, because he was not going to call that good for nothing mama’s boy nothing but, approach Glenn. 

 

Glenn gave Daryl a look, before turning to look at Aiden. “We have a way of doing things here.”

 

“You tied up walkers-”

 

“They killed our friend!” Aiden exclaimed raising his voice. “You will follow my orders when we’re out there.”

 

“We’re as screwed as your last group then.” Daryl put a hand out, to signal Carol to wait as he passed her his crossbow. He could feel it in his bones, these guys were not going to let it go. 

 

“Repeat what you just said.”

 

“Back off Aiden,” Tara said moving to stand between Zach, Noah, and the older men; as Aiden pushed Glenn. 

 

“Come on, step back,” Noah said trying to intercede as Aiden continued to taunt Glenn. Deanna’s son pushed Glenn again, harder this time. 

 

“Come on, tough guy.”

 

“No one’s impressed, man. No one cares if your dick is bigger than mine. Walk away.”

 

Carol was proud of her friend. She remembered the boy he’d been back when they’d met at the quarry, and the man he was today was far from that. He was good, so inherently good, sometimes it made her heart hurt. She wanted him to stay that way, to stay positive and compassionate. She wanted him to stay who he was, always. 

 

“Aiden!” Deanna yelled at his son as she noticed the people surrounding them. “What is going on?!”

 

“This guy doesn’t like the way we do things,” Aidan sneered at Glenn before turning towards his mother. “Why did you let these people in?”

 

“Because we actually know what we’re doing out there.” Carol knew what was coming from the moment the words left Glenn’s mouth. Aiden turned, throwing a punch at Glenn. A move so telegraphed, Glenn was able to move out of the way and retaliate with one of his own. One lone punch which rendered the man to the ground. 

 

Things got complicated when Zach saw Nicholas, Aiden’s lackey, move to attack Glenn from behind. The young MacDixon tried to stop the other man, getting thrown to the ground for his trouble; only to have Daryl tackle Nicholas to the ground. 

 

He didn’t do anything, as much as Daryl wanted to punch the guy unconscious he knew he couldn’t do it. He knew he had to keep his cool. “Not here, not now!” Rick growled at him as he tried to pull him off Nicholas. 

 

“Tell him, he’s the one who touched one of my kids.” Rick groaned as he pulled hard enough to get Daryl off Nicholas, throwing him towards were Carol was, knowing she would prevent him from attacking again. Even if he was prowling like a tiger behind a fence. 

 

“Daryl, down!” Carol whispered to him, wanting to touch him, but knowing she couldn’t. “You have to calm down!”

 

“I want everyone to hear me,” Deanna called out for everyone present. “Rick and his people are part of this community now in all ways. As equals. Understood?” Not even her son dared to contradict her. 

 

Carol didn’t care about Deanna, she didn’t care about anyone else but her mad as hell husband and how Zach was doing. 

 

“He’s alright,” Carol said softly to Daryl, who although had finally stopped pacing was still as tense as his crossbow strings and glaring at Nicholas as if he was going to be able to murder him based on that alone. “He’s fine, look?”

 

Daryl finally looked towards were Zach was now following Tara and Noah to turn in his gun, he wasn’t even bleeding. He had seen him go down and he had just seen red. “He shouldn’t be out there.”

 

“He’s a grown up, and that’s his job.” Daryl huffed, turning on his heel and starting to prowl towards their home. Not waiting for Carol to catch up, not even remembering until later that he did not have his crossbow with him. 

 

Carol found him pacing in their room. 

 

“Did you come here to hide?” Daryl huffed, having to stop his pacing when Carol was suddenly in front of him. “Because if you are, you’re very bad at hiding nowadays. I knew exactly where to look.”

 

“Not hiding … “ At Carol’s look he added. “At least not from you.”

 

“Good answer.” Carol chuckled, letting her hands finally caress his chest over his vest. Feeling how tense he was, and how hard his heart was still beating. “It’s been one of those days, huh?”

Daryl just groaned, dropping his head to rest against her shoulder and rounding her waist loosely with his arms. “I’m sorry, Pookie.”

 

“Not your fault,” Daryl murmured against her collarbone, dropping a soft kiss there as he melted more into her when he felt her hand sneak into his hair and softly caress his scalp. “Hate this fucking place.”

 

Carol huffed as she felt more of his weight settle on her, moving to sit on the bed before she laid on her back with him still over her. “I’m sorry we have to do this.”

 

“It’s alright,” Daryl said as he started peppering small kisses along Carol’s collarbones, pushing his nose against the neck of her shirt so he could have more places to kiss. “But not behind closed doors …”

 

“Not behind closed doors.” Daryl smiled against her skin, taking the time to breathe her in. She smelled like Carol … she smelled like home. “You know?” Carol said as used her good hand to raise his face from where he was kissing her uncovered chest. “I closed the door behind us, and I’m sure we still have about an hour before Mika and Connor get back home.”

 

Softly - remembering the fact that her ribs weren’t completely healed yet - Daryl moved them so they were lying on their bed on their sides. “Are you asking me to take advantage of the fact that my brothers and our kids are out there working their asses off, so we can fool around?”

 

“Are you complaining?”

 

“Hell no.”

 

-.-.-.

 

They were outside smoking after the sun had gone down, ordered out by their wife the moment she saw them open a pack, when Rick found them. 

 

“Carl wasn’t joking,” Murphy said in wonder, passing the lit cigarette to Daryl as he jumped from where he was sitting on the veranda. “You really are gonna be a fucking peeler? Again?” Rick tried not to groan in annoyance as Murphy started to circle him, a mocking smirk still on his face. 

 

“Are we good?” Rick asked Daryl, not giving Murphy the attention he was seeking . 

 

“Yeah.” The sound of the front door opening distracting them for a moment. Connor opened his arms for Carol to snuggle against his chest as soon as she made her way into the porch. “What this asshole tried to say is, are you a cop again?”

 

“I’m trying it on for size.”

 

Rick gave Connor a look as he heard him snort. “Sorry, lad, it’s just that you never weren’t an officer in the first place. You never really stopped being one.”

 

“People would debate that,” Rick said as he put his hands inside his jacket pockets. “I’ve done things …”

 

“We all have. Police officers even before done worse.”

 

Rick shrugged. 

 

“So, we’re staying?” Carol asked, sighing against Connor’s chest without looking at Rick. 

 

“We can stop worrying about being separated, stop standing guard.”

 

“If we stay here, like this? We’ll let our guard down … this place will make us weak.” 

 

Murphy’s hand found Carol’s, giving it a squeeze. 

 

“Carl said that,” Rick explained looking at Carol who had her eyes closed. She might look meek and weak, but that woman was anything but. “But that’s not going to happen …” Rick took a couple of steps away from the brothers and towards the end of the porch, looking at the dark night surrounding them.

 

“We won’t get weak. That’s not in us anymore. We’ll make it work. And if they can’t make it -” Rick turned to look at them; his most trusted people, his strongest people, his hardest to convince people. “We’ll just take this place.”

  
  
  
  
  
  



	10. Forget

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES!!! NEW CHAPTER. 
> 
> Sorry, I had a bad spell of writer's block during the last few months of last year. But I was able to finish this! 15k of MacDixon goodness with chapter 11 about halfway done already. So hopefully I'll have something to post again soon. 
> 
> I love you guys and I hope you had a happy Holiday season.

**Chapter X**

**Forget**

 

“Can you hear that?” Carol whispered against Daryl’s back, her arms around his waist as her breasts pressed against his bare back. 

 

The only answer she got as a soft pat on the hand she had over Daryl’s stomach, her husband not willing to break the peaceful silence they had found themselves settled into. Silence broken by a couple of birds singing right outside of their window. 

 

They were the only two people awake in the house, even Judith was still asleep. It was early, too early for the people of Alexandria to be out and about … but not early compared to the life they had been living before. Even at the prison, they had a lot of mouths to feed and things to do; meaning that most mornings were spent either hunting or in charge of the communal meals they prepared. 

 

But Alexandria was different; there was school and jobs. There were casseroles and pasta makers. There was safety behind the walls. 

 

“We’re supposed to meet Rick outside right after school starts.” Carol smiled feeling the vibrations of Daryl’s voice through him. “We got to get ready.”

 

“Pookie,” Carol murmured softly, moving so she could peer at him over his shoulder. “It’s probably like six in the morning, school doesn’t start until nine.”

 

“So go to fucking sleep,” Connor grumbled as he threw his pillow at them, only flipping Daryl off when his younger brother returned it to him not so gently. “Some of us do have to work for a living.”

 

“Fuck off,” Daryl muttered as he turned, giving Connor his back and gathering Carol into his arms. “If you only knew what not having a job meant yesterday…”

 

“Hey, what does he mean by that?” Carol just smiled at Daryl, kissing him on the nose before leaving his arms and climbing out of the bed. 

 

“No, really … what happened yesterday?” Carol was still smiling as she heard Connor continue to pester Daryl as she started the shower. They might not be in charge of the place … yet, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a thousand of things to do. 

 

The sound of a scuffle right outside the bathroom door would have been cause of concern for anyone but Carol. Instead she just hurried to wash, knowing that whomever came through that door was going to make her forget about the reason why she had gotten into the shower in the first place. 

 

Not that she would ever complain. 

 

The next couple of hours passed in a weirdly domestic way which made Carol’s heart hurt. Waking up kids, getting ready for school, breakfast in a proper kitchen … it just brought up so many memories from before the turn, where instead of a little girl with light brown hair hidden under the blankets, Sophia was smiling and laughing with her as they prepared breakfast. 

 

Her morose mood didn’t go unnoticed. Her boys might not say anything in front of the rest of their family, but they noticed. Small touches here and there, a hand at her waist, a kiss on her shoulder … even an extra piece of spam sneaked in by one of them when she wasn’t paying attention, eased the feeling of tightness in her chest little by little. The people they had lost along the way would always be with them, but they had an opportunity here now; an opportunity to actually live. 

 

Once the kids were off to school and chores, and Abraham had stopped by to take Murphy with him; Carol, Daryl, and Rick left the safety of Alexandria behind under the pretense of going hunting - in Daryl’s case - and teaching Carol how to shoot. 

 

Daryl was glad Olivia was still having a problem being able to meet his eyes, because otherwise he was sure he would have been busted as he tried to keep his smile at bay while Carol babbled with the other woman about how bad she was at shooting while choosing the gun she would take with her. There were few people he would trust with a gun as much as he trusted his wife, and that was the God’s honest truth. 

 

She had come so far. They had worked hard during that first winter and she had become an acceptable shot. But it wasn’t until his brothers joined in that she became the marksman she was now. 

 

The people of Alexandria would have had kittens if they knew how good she was in reality. She could probably beat every single one of them shot by shot … maybe not quite as good as Sasha. But definitely up there in their top three. Although Daryl was biased with Carol being his wife and all. 

 

“Think they bought it?” Rick asked  as soon as the three of them - Daryl, Carol, and him - had left the fences behind. 

 

“Well, Olivia couldn’t seem to focus on anything other than -”

 

“Yes, they did,” Daryl interjected putting a hand over Carol’s mouth to stop her from finishing that sentence. “Not a word,” He whispered in Carol’s ear, making her chuckle as she met his angry gaze. 

 

“Oh Pookie.” Rick just gave them both a look as he moved a few yards ahead, leaving them to walk hand in hand behind him. “Such a romantic stroll in the woods, you really do know how to make a girl feel special ... maybe after our talk we could lose our third wheel and you can ravish me against a tree somewhere.”

 

“Stop.” 

 

Carol couldn’t help but giggle, pressing her face against Daryl’s bare shoulder as Rick stumbled in front of them; apparently their leader wasn’t ready to hear that type of talk coming from her. She glanced at her husband as he hurried a little along, her smile widening as she saw that although blushing, he sported a slight smile on his face.  

 

It wasn’t like he was someone else while inside Alexandria, but it was clear to everyone who knew him that it just wasn’t him. Connor and Murphy had an incredible capacity to adapt to any circumstances, they were extroverts through and through … her Daryl was the other way around, hating the fact that he stuck out like a sore thumb, but at the same time not willing to sacrifice any part of himself just to fit in. 

 

Daryl was just that … Daryl. And Carol loved and adored every single part of him, even the grumpy side that she had to help keep controlled at certain times. She just wished he saw himself like she saw him, like the incredible man that she loved so much. 

 

They weren’t out there for long, before Rick stopped close to a dilapidated house. The house where apparently he had hidden the gun which had disappeared the day before. 

 

“We need guns, but Olivia is always there. We need to come up with a plan so we can get to them without anyone noticing.”

 

Carol could see Daryl stiffen at the mention of Olivia, but she knew it wasn’t the time to make jokes. Not when Rick was onto something, not when they were playing with fire. 

 

There was rustling and moaning coming from the other side of the house, which made Daryl leave Carol’s side to check it over. 

 

“It’s only one, and it’s still not close.”

 

“Leave it,” Rick said as he put his hands on his hips, “we’re not going to be here long.” Daryl nodded, moving to stand in front of Carol, keeping himself between the danger and his wife. “So what do you think?”

 

“We go in when it’s empty,” Carol said giving Daryl a wary look, before giving her attention back to Rick. 

 

“How? It’s locked up at night?”

 

Daryl smirked as he saw Carol’s expression as Rick said those words. She knew that look … he had been on the receiving end of that look; it was one which said  _ are you really this dumb or are you just pretending?  _ That usually came in after his brothers had done something incredibly stupid in her eyes. 

 

“The window. There’s just a latch, I can leave it open.”

 

“Just a latch?” Rick asked. 

 

“Yeah,” Carol confirmed. 

 

“But what if one of those pricks shuts it?” Daryl couldn’t help but feel a little bad at the look Carol gave him for calling everyone in Alexandria a prick. But just a little; it wasn’t like she knew they weren’t. And she more than anyone else knew how it was, us versus the world nowadays. 

 

“We just wait a couple of days, and we leave it open again.”

 

Daryl sighed, moving to check on the walker once again. “It’s getting closer.”

 

“We need to do it sooner than later. Right not they’re not watching us, they’re not worrying about meetings like these. We may need the guns, we may not.”

 

“Better safe than sorry, if not to protect ourselves against them … to protect all of us in case something else happens.” Carol gave Daryl a small smile. “I think they’re just naive, but we’ll need them… whatever way it goes.”

 

“They’re the damn luckiest people I’ve ever met,” Rick sighed as he shook his head. “And they just keep getting luckier.”

 

“How’s that?” Daryl asked and Carol couldn’t help but look adoringly at her sweet husband. 

 

“We’re here now.”

 

“They have a couple of foot lockers filled with nine millimeter autos, Rugers, Kel-Tec … just tossed in there.” Daryl couldn’t help but feel both incredibly proud and turned on by hearing his wife talk about weapons like an expert. Connor would have had a blast if he could have heard his thoughts. “They don’t use them, they’ll never know if they’re gone.”

 

Daryl shook his head a little, getting himself a wondering look from Carol at the movement. “Someone’s got one now…” His eyes moved to where the pile of rubbish was, where Rick had told them he had hidden the gun before going into Alexandria a few days before. 

 

“Listen …” Rick shifted his weight from one foot to the other, “the others? We want them to try -”

 

“Not just the others,” Carol interrupted Rick as he was about to continue. “We  _ all  _ have to try, because I really don’t think these are bad people Rick… they just have been lucky.”

 

Daryl looked away, knowing that as much as Carol was telling Rick to try as well … that was directed at him. 

 

“So we keep quiet. Just us.”

 

“And my brothers,” Daryl said. 

 

“And your brothers.” Rick and Daryl looked at each other for a few moments, and Daryl understood Rick knew telling them - Daryl and Carol - meant that both Murphy and Connor were going to be part of it all; that his friend had finally understood one of them, meant all four of them. “Here it comes,” Rick said as he motioned with his chin towards where the walker was stumbling through the woods, having heard their voices and deciding they were going to be its next meal. 

 

“I got ‘im.”

 

“Wait,” Carol said as he moved closer to where Daryl had stopped as he heard her voice, raising her gun and shooting at the walker in the chest multiple times, before finally shooting it in the head. At Rick’s look after it took her close to ten shots to kill one lone walker she explained. “We said you guys were taking me to practice my shooting, couldn’t come back with a full mag.”

 

“Lucky my wife’s so smart.” Carol couldn’t help but smile and bump Daryl’s shoulder with hers softly. 

 

“We should get back,” Rick said as he started to walk away from the house. “You open the latch, and we’ll pick our moment. Us? We don’t need to be lucky.” They both, Rick and Carol, stopped as Daryl leaned down to look at the body of the walker Carol had just killed. 

 

“Hell’s that?” Daryl said, pointing at the forehead of the walker on the ground. “Is that a W?” A crude marking of the letter could be seen carved on it. 

 

“Yeah,” Carol murmured as the three of them got closer to see. A shiver ran through her arms as she watched what seemed to be a carving done after the person who that walker had been was dead, the lack of blood around the wound chilling her to the bones. 

 

“Hey,” Daryl said jumping over the body and grabbing Carol’s sleeve tugging at it softly to get her attention. “It’s nothing new, you’re okay.”

 

“Yeah, it’s nothing.” Carol just knew by the look Daryl gave her, that he knew she was lying … and that he didn’t appreciate it. 

 

“You go ahead,” Daryl said to Rick, sneaking an arm around Carol’s waist and pulling her close. “We’re just going to hunt a little … I’ll walk her back later.” At the look Rick was giving, Daryl sighed. “They think I’m her brother in law, we’re family… they will accept that I’m the one teaching her to shoot a lot more than her going to someone who’s not family for lessons.”

 

Rick just raised his hands, an innocent expression sneaking over his worn features.  He paused but a moment more before he turned on his heel and began to trek back to the community they now called home. 

 

Daryl just walked the two of them further away from the walker, a walker that for some reason had shaken his wife more than other ‘normal’ walkers. “Talk to me, love,” Daryl pleaded as she sighed against his chest. 

 

“I’m okay,” she said softly, allowing her weight to rest on her husband. “I just feel like we have bigger things to worry about than Alexandria.”

 

“The W?”

 

“It was carved after they died, before they turned.” The lack of response from Daryl made her move away from him so she could look at his face. 

 

“How do you know?”

 

“There was barely any blood around the wound… if they had been alive there would have been a lot more blood than there is. Who would do that? Kill someone and then mark them like that?”

 

“Let’s get out of here,” Daryl murmured as he started to lead her away from the house and the walker, an arm around her shoulders. “I think there was something about some ravishing you mentioned before?”

 

Carol snorted as she allowed Daryl to lead her away. The two of them knew there were always going to be something out there trying to get them, but trying for just a moment to put that behind them. They would definitely bring it up once they were back home with the rest of their family, but there was nothing they could do at the moment. Other than try and enjoy the beautiful morning for a while. 

 

Sometimes it was just the small moments that could pull them through the rough times. 

 

They walked in silence, eventually parting a little so Daryl was able to keep his crossbow up while still holding hands with his wife. The feeling of impending doom leaving them as they walked further and further away from that place. The woods - the one place where before finding his family had been the one place where Daryl felt at home - just engulfed them in their peace. A peace Daryl hadn’t felt since back before this had all started. 

 

“It’s so quiet out here,” Carol murmured as Daryl stopped to wait for her to climb over a fallen log he had just jumped over. “There seems to be barely any walkers around here.”

 

“Hmmm,” Daryl mumbled as he looked around them, taking in the quietness of the woods and the lack of danger surrounding them. When he looked back to Carol, she was doing the same as he, and he couldn’t help but smile softly down at her. 

 

“What?” Carol asked as she saw the look on Daryl’s face, a small smile spreading across her face as she started to swing their hands together. Daryl wasn’t even sure she was conscious of doing it, and he couldn’t help but allow a smile to appear on his face. 

 

“Pretty romantic … want to ermmm, want to screw around?” The absolute joy lighting his wife’s face was worth the blush he could feel spreading over his - and all over if he was being honest. 

 

“I thought you would never ask, Pookie,” Carol murmured as she put an arm around Daryl’s neck before she pushed herself up on her tiptoes and crashed her lips to his. Daryl could feel the smile on her lips as he allowed her to push him against a tree, just before she deepened the kiss. 

 

His hands were starting to make their way up her shirt, touching the soft skin of her back - which he loved to explore - when movement to his left startled them back into reality. He could still feel his hard on pressing against her thigh as he raised his crossbow, while Carol herself raised her gun while staying completely still. 

 

“Come out! Now!” Daryl yelled as he pushed past Carol, his crossbow up and ready to shoot. Carol blushed madly as she watched Aaron come out from behind the bushes, hands up, looking warily at her grumpy husband. 

 

“Hi Carol,” Aaron said, giving her an uneasy smile as he looked from her raised gun to Daryl’s crossbow. She could see his hands shaking as he glanced nervously at the bolts which were ready to fire. “It’s impressive that you both can tell the difference between walkers and people just by sound.”

 

“Don’t talk to her!” Daryl growled, taking a step closer to the other man. “Why were you following us?” 

 

“I wasn’t,” Aaron answered softly as he watched Carol lower her gun, dropping his hands as she did so. “I came out to hunt rabbits.” 

 

Carol sighed, taking a step closer to Daryl as he kept pointing his bow at Aaron. “Hey, Pookie,” Carol said softly as she put a hand on the back of Daryl’s shoulder, feeling as his muscles started to relax immediately under her hand. “I believe him, he’s good.”

 

“I guess you’re better at telling the difference between the good guys and the bad ones than Rick is, aren’t you?”

 

Carol gave Aaron a reproachful look at his words, and he sensed his error, casting her a sheepish look  “Daryl,” Carol said to her husband, waiting until he’d lowered his weapon and turned to look at her. “I’m going to head back home, stay safe… alright?”

 

Daryl glared at Aaron before turning to his wife and lowering his voice. “I’m gonna walk you to the gates… just to be safe.”

 

“It’s alright, Pookie …” Carol had to remind herself that Aaron was still there, and that he thought they were just in laws. “Remember, we said you were going to try?”

 

Daryl glanced at Aaron, who was looking everywhere but at them, before returning his gaze to his wife, giving her a sharp nod. 

 

“I’m going back home now, you two should go out there and hunt us some rabbits!” Aaron gave her a small smile at her pretend upbeatness, before she gave Daryl’s forearm a light squeeze and walking past him towards the direction Aaron had come from. 

 

“Are you sure it’s safe for her to head out on her own?” Aaron asked, taking a step closer to Daryl as they both watched her walk away. Daryl didn’t answer, just quietly watched until his wife was no longer visible among the vegetation. 

 

As soon as that happened, the hunter turned on his heel, walking in the opposite direction. “Keep up,” Daryl grunted at Aaron, who hastily started to follow. “And keep quiet.” 

 

Aaron smiled softly as he jogged up to follow the other man. Seems like the youngest of the MacDixons did have a soft side after all. 

 

-.-.-.

 

Connor couldn’t help but smile as he watched Carol walk towards him. She looked beautiful, in her bell bottom pants, pressed shirt and flower print sweater. As much shit as Daryl had been giving her the day before, about not looking like her… she just looked even more incredible in his eyes. To know that something so pretty, was so deadly… it was everything. 

“Hey, love.” Carol took the hand Connor had extended to her as soon as she was near enough, allowing him to pull her close to his side on the bench he was sitting on. “Here to bring me my lunch?” 

The way Connor said those words made obvious he was not actually talking about food. “You fiend, you don’t even like it.”

“My sweet dame, you wound me… how dare you imply that I do not enjoy something that has to do with my wife? How dare you?!” Connor couldn’t help but laugh as he heard one of the women who were passing by giggle at his antics. “You hurt me, love… deeply hurt.”

“Shut up, you goof.” Carol pushed him playfully on the shoulder, before Connor used her own hand to pull her as close as possible, planting a sweet kiss on her lips. He knew she was tense because of the whole situation, not trusting yet – he wasn’t either – but he knew his wife, and he knew that a part of her was letting her guard down a little bit at the feeling of safety. And that’s what he and his brothers wanted for her. For them. 

“You talk to Rick?” Connor asked softly once they were settled again, watching the kids play around the small backyard that worked as a playground for the school. 

“We’re trying to infiltrate as soon as possible,” Carol said smiling softly and nodding at one of the women passing by. If anyone had been watching them, they looked like a couple enjoying some time together… nothing more, nothing less. “I’m ‘accidentally’ leaving the window to the armory open, we sneak in and out without them noticing.”

“I don’t want you risking more than you should,” Connor murmured as he grabbed one of her calloused hands, bringing it to his lips and kissing the back softly. “Can’t let anything happen to you.”

Carol smiled at her husband, using the back of the fingers of her casted hand to caress his cheeks. “You once told me that you couldn’t promise nothing would ever happen to you, but that you would always try to find your way back to me…” Carol kissed him softly on the lips. “All I can do is promise the same.”

“And that’s all I can truly ask for, love.”

Their sweet moment was broken not a minute later when one of the women called Carol over to join her and the rest of the ‘stepford wives’ troop - as the boys had started calling them - for tea. 

“Shhhh,” Carol patted Connor thigh as he complained under his breath at the interruption, “be nice. I’m the one that’s going undercover.”

“I can give you a few pointers if you want …”

“This is not Miss Congeniality, Cookie. I think I can pull it off.”

“For the hundredth time! I do not get all my plans from movies, that’s a lie perpetuated by Murphy!” 

Carol was still laughing when she stole a last kiss from her husband’s lips.“See you later, Con!” 

She couldn’t help but look back over her shoulder as she hurried to catch up with the other women from the safe zone, feeling butterflies in her stomach as she realized he was still watching her. The way her three men made her feel, was unlike anything ever in her life. 

She wasn’t even sure she was following everything the group of women around her were saying. Sadly she had mastered a long time ago the ability to make people think she was listening completely at what they were saying, but at the same time being miles away. She had needed to do that sometimes when it came to dealing with her shit head of a first husband’s family … and even with him at certain times. 

The women around her were truly something else. Once upon a time, before Ed, before the turn, before everything … she might have longed to be one of these women. Someone who was so out of touch with reality, not even the end of the world and society as we know it changed the way they lived. 

Maybe there was a little bit of jealousy in there, if she was honest. To be so protected, so naive; and not only when it came to the evil that walked the earth after the dead rose, but also the evil within humanity itself. She had never been truly naive … her parents dead at a young age, being in the system only to end up enthralled by the tale Ed had spouted at her. 

She’d never had a chance, not like the one the women around her did. Women who were thinking of welcoming parties and cookies, instead of the walking dead and the evil men out there. So she was indeed a little jealous of their innocence, but there was only one thing she would have changed from her life if she could. If someone asked if she would be up to reliving her life, all over again, from start to finish so she could get to this point … she would. The only thing she would change was Sophia. 

Her sweet darling girl would have loved it here. She would have loved her siblings, and she would have absolutely adored her stepfathers. And she was without a doubt they would have loved her too. Damn it, Daryl had already loved her; he had shown Carol by looking for her without having to do so, by getting out day by day back in the farm when everyone had lost hope for finding her alive. 

“Mashed lima beans, cocoa powder, a little sweetener? Amazing!” The woman standing in front of Carol - Erin if her memory didn’t betray her - exclaimed, making Carol give her a fake polite smile. “I wouldn’t have eaten it before all this, I swear. But it’s protein, and it fills you up.”

“Sounds delicious.” Carol didn’t have to fake that, since it wasn’t a bad idea in the times of the apocalypse after all. The appearance of Rick, strolling down the middle of the street with his confident strut, finally gave her the out she realized she had been longing for the last hour of her life. “I’ll be back. I have to go beg Rick for some help for tonight.” 

As if she would beg anything of Rick at this point. She had begged once, and once had been enough for her lifetime. There was only one thing she begged for now, and it was for her boys ears only. 

“If you need anything else, just hit me girl.”

The need to answer that she would hit her for real if she continued, was one she was barely able to avoid actually voicing. Her husbands - especially Daryl who was as direct as someone could be - were being a bad influence on her. “Okay, thanks.”

Carol hurried her steps to catch up to Rick, still smiling over her shoulder to the group of women watching from the porch. 

“You heard about the party?” Her head was already twenty five steps ahead of where they were at the moment, she had to get Murphy good clothes, do Mika’s hair, wash Zach’s pants … and the hardest one of them all, convince Daryl to actually show up. Her Pookie was probably going to do everything within his power to get out of being around people; and even worse around people he didn’t know.

“Everyone’s gonna be there.”

Carol snorted at the absolute lack of excitement in Rick’s voice. “It’s the event of the season.” The two friends chuckled at the situation they found themselves in. 

“So…” They continued to walk side by side, the fake smile still on Carol’s face. “Tonight then?”

“I should be able to slip right out.”

“The armory is just by Deanna’s house, I should be able to help.”

“The people will wonder where the new constable is, or Judith’s father.” Carol said as she looked up at Rick. 

“Alright,” Rick said, sighing. “We can’t use Daryl, even if he’s the best one at sneaking silently. They’re watching every move he makes.”

“And…” Carol added, shaking her head. “I’m going to have to wrestle him into nice clothes and drag him with me to the party. But don’t worry… I have two diversions that will make sure no one even thinks about where I am.” 

Rick chuckled, shaking his head as the two of them made their way into their house. He wondered why he hadn’t seen it before. Not only the relationship between the four of them, but the potential the woman walking now ahead of his had. But Daryl had seen it, he had seen her when no one else had; just like she had seen him when everyone thought he was just an angry redneck. 

.-.-.-.-.

 

Aaron had actually followed instructions and kept up with him as they hunted in the woods. The man was quiet - not as quiet as Carol, but definitely better than Murphy - and although he had the bare minimum knowledge of tracking, he was good at understanding that Daryl knew best; taking a step back and following his lead instead. 

The nickering of a horse nearby made him stop in his tracks, head tilted to the side so he could pinpoint where the sound was coming from better, hand out to make Aaron stop on his tracks. The horse’s coat was a beautiful burnished chestnut, it looked friendly, but Daryl could feel his heart starting to race. After what had happened with Nervous Nelly, he hadn’t even gotten close to Michonne’s horse while at the prison; much to his brother’s chagrin. 

“I’ve been trying to catch him for months to bring him inside,” Aaron said excitedly, looking from the horse to Daryl and back. He did not notice the other man’s nervousness, his sweaty palms or how he was fidgeting in his place. “His name is Buttons.”

Daryl snorted at the name. 

“One of the kids saw him run by the gate, a while back,” Aaron explained as he gave Daryl a small shrug. Thought he looked like a Buttons. I haven’t seen him in a while, I was afraid I was too late.”

“Smart animals, horses,” Daryl said softly as he watched Aaron take off his backpack to look for something inside. “My brothers could probably help, got some experience with horses back in Ireland.”

“Every time Eric or I come close, he gets spooked.” Daryl watched as Aaron took out some rope, making a knot in a side to try and catch the sneaky animal once again. 

“If I get my ass kicked, don’t tell my brothers,” Daryl murmured as he took the rope from the other man’s hands.

“Have you done this before?”

“My group used to… but they hadn’t been out there that long. The longer they’re out there, the more they turn back to what they really are,” Daryl whispered just before starting to walk slowly towards the magnificent beast trying not to take his own words too seriously.

As he started to get closer to the horse, he remembered having read somewhere, that dogs and horses were some of the few animals that were actually able to scent people’s fear. So as he slowly took one step closer to Buttons, he tried to keep his heartbeat steady; to tell his brain he wasn’t going to get trampled to death and that he was only trying to get them something his girls could have some use for later. 

Buttons’ eyes set on him, and Daryl stopped. The big almost black eyes looked at him like they knew his deepest and darkest secrets. Buttons looked at him like he just knew who exactly Daryl was, and he was ready to hightail it out of there. Away from a Dixon. 

“Easy, buddy,” Daryl said softly. But he wasn’t just a Dixon, was he? As his eyes kept contact with Buttons he allowed his mind to wander to the family he had created for himself after the walkers had destroyed everything he’d had before. “Easy.” He was no longer just a Dixon, a sign of scorn and the evil of this world. He was a brother, a father, a friend … a husband. “Easy.” He wasn’t that same man he had been years ago, he wasn’t the same man no one would ever trust. He wasn’t that same man who was almost wild. 

His heart leaped in his chest as Buttons lowered his head, allowing him to slowly put the rope around his neck. He wasn’t tamed at all, just as the horse he was slowly petting on the side of the neck … but just like Buttons, he knew how to recognize when something good came for him. He was sure of that now. 

“You used to be somebody’s, right buddy?” Daryl said softly to the animal, as Buttons pushed his face against his gently. “But now you’re ready to have a family again, aren’t you, buddy?”

The sound of a walker moaning as it shuffled through the high pasture made Button’s whine as he took a couple of steps back. “Easy, buddy,” Daryl said as he tried to stay calm, while not letting go of the horse as he shot the walker with his crossbow. “You’re good now, we’re good.”

The horse continued to whine as he realized there were more walkers coming their way. “Come on,” Daryl said as he started to pull on the rope, looking quickly over his shoulder to make sure he was leading them towards safety. “Come on, buddy.”

Buttons kept on pulling on the rope, trying to get away as Aaron started to shoot the walkers that were still coming. 

“I got this!” Aaron yelled over the whining horse, continuing to shoot as Daryl focused back on the scared animal. 

“Please don’t kill me, Buttons,” Daryl said as he jumped back just in time to avoid being trampled by the scared horse. “I really don’t want to have to let go!” The horse was still jumping and pulling on the rope - that Daryl had given him more of - when he heard Aaron call out that the walkers were done. 

The two men were barely able to keep the horse from running off, talking to him in a gentle tone as he eventually began to calm down. Aaron smiled in wonder, watching as Daryl allowed the horse to nuzzle his face once it had calmed down, the first smile he had ever seen on the redneck’s face, shining like the sun on a cloudy day. 

He had a lot to tell Eric once they were finally back inside the walls. This was something his husband just needed to know. 

-.-.-.

Carol had to bite her lip as she walked behind Olivia on her way inside the pantry. She could almost taste the need the other woman had to ask about Daryl, and it was a sign of how good her self control was that she didn’t burst out laughing. 

She had kept her word, and the incident had stayed just between the three of them - Daryl would die of embarrassment if his brothers were to find out about it - but it was just so hard not to laugh when she could almost see the cogs in Olivia’s brain turning, trying to find a good moment to ask about her shy husband. 

“I can’t believe you substitute applesauce for eggs! That could change my life.” 

“If you could keep that between you and me, that’s the secret of these cookies.” Carol gave Olivia a polite secretive smile, which the other woman answered with one of her own.

“And…” Olivia said as she passed a couple of jars to Carol. “Does Daryl likes those cookies?”

“Oh,” Carol said feigning surprise, “Daryl loves my cookies! He’s very picky about which cookies he eats, but mine? He just adores them.” She knew she shouldn’t encourage Olivia in any way, the truth was going to come out eventually and she would hate for the gentle woman to end up hurt in any way. But she just didn’t know how to let her know Daryl just wasn’t interested. 

“I’ll keep that in mind! The chocolate is kind of a trick.”

“You actually have it?” The possibility of eating her favorite snack distracted Carol enough to forget for a moment what she was going to do. She hadn’t eaten any since Atlanta, and it had been a long time before that when they had hit the jackpot back in the prison. 

“I can only ration you a quarter bar.”

“I’ll make it work.” She could make it work with an eighth of a bar… leaving her and Murphy the rest for later. 

The sound of steps coming from the entrance made both of them look away from what they were doing, and Carol couldn’t help but feel as her heart skipped a beat as Murphy smiled at her from behind one of the Alexandria men. Her boys had that power over her, no matter how long they were together, her heart always felt like it was going to jump out of her chest or her stomach was filled with butterflies when she saw them. 

“Hey Olivia,” the tallest man - balding and dressed in flannel - said as he stopped right in front of them, Murphy behind him. “We need to make a withdrawal.”

“Late start?”

“Boss lady wants me to check that strut on the east wall before the party.” She could feel both the man’s and Murphy’s eyes on her, and she tried not to react. It wasn’t like she was being ogled by the unknown man, but she just wasn’t used to being looked on by men. Other than her boys, that was. 

“Head on back,” Olivia said with a smile as she started to walk towards the armory. “Carol, take what you need … the chocolate is in the freezer in the hallway.”

 

“Did someone say chocolate?” Murphy chimed in, as he gave Olivia a panty-dropper smile. Carol shook her head, chuckling softly as she saw the other woman blush bright red as she walked past them to the end of the end of the hall, where the man was motioning for Murphy to follow. 

 

“Behave,” Carol chided softly, making sure she was not being seen when she pinched Murphy’s behind as she walked past him, before turning back and continued grabbing what she was there for. 

 

The look she got from her husband over his shoulder as she finally walked towards the armory after getting the rest of the ingredients for the cookies was one that promised she was going to pay for her behavior later. She just smiled at him in challenge. 

 

“Are you afraid of guns, ma’am?” 

 

“Oh no,” Carol answered in stride, as she finished walking into the armory where the man who had asked the question and Murphy were checking the equipment. “My husband and his brothers always kept weapons at home. I had a handgun, and carried a rifle on the outside …” Carol used the opportunity to look out the window and take off the lock as she continued her tale. “But I’m not a very good shot, not like the boys.”

 

“Not with those, at least.” She could see Murphy’s mirth as she looked nervously at the gun the man was preparing, a gun that Murphy had seen her - and trained her - to shoot almost perfectly. He was sure she could disarm and arm that same gun with her eyes closed in less time that his ‘boss’  would take in just disarming it. 

 

“Well …” Murphy squinted as the man looked down at his wife with a look he did not like at all. “My name is Tobin, and if you want to … I can teach you.”

 

Murphy coughed loudly in that precise moment, glaring as Tobin turned quickly to look at him. “I mean … if it’s okay with your family.”

 

“She’s married and her husband would put a bullet in your arse if he heard you were propositioning his wife.”

 

“I mean… better to be safe than sorry.”

 

“Yeah, tell that to her husband.”

 

“Thanks Tobin,” Carol interjected as she saw Murphy take a step closer to the other man. “But Murphy is right, my husband is a good marksman and if he doesn’t think it is good for me to learn … who am I to contradict him?”

 

Murphy made a face at her words, and Carol just smiled at everyone in the room before excusing herself out of the situation. The deed was done, she had cooking to do … and Murphy was going to get his ass kicked once he got back home. 

 

She also had to wrangle Daryl into clean clothes. She had more important things to worry about than a delusional guy trying to flirt with her. 

 

Also… what type of name was Tobin?

 

-.-.-.

 

“I don’t believe for one moment that you have never done that before,” Aaron said as he walked beside Daryl, Buttons walking without a problem on Daryl’s other side. 

 

“Never.”

 

“You really don’t ride horses?”

 

“My brothers do,” Daryl answered as he kept his gait steady walking through the woods. “I ride bikes.”

 

“Something tells me you don’t mean ten speeds.” Aaron chuckled alone at his own kind of joke, as Daryl continued their trek in silence. “I know you feel like an outsider …” Daryl didn’t turn as he listened to Aaron’s words; they were true after all, he was an outsider to Alexandria… but he had a place in something bigger than them. His family. “It’s not your fault. Eric and I … they still see us as outsiders in many ways.”

 

There was something in how Aaron was speaking which made Daryl want to open up to the other man. He knew, just like his siblings and wife knew, that the man was the real deal. Aaron was a good person, they all could see that. And in a weird way, it had been a long time since Daryl had felt comfortable in the presence of someone that wasn’t his family.  

 

He could feel Aaron’s eyes on him, and he wanted to say something. He really did; something about how he was trying, how he had promised Carol he would. How this, him not going off on his own was him trying, trying hard. But as much as he had learned to open up to his nuclear family, he was still shit with other people. Hell, he wasn’t sure if he had even had a direct conversation with Rosita or Eugene on his own since they had joined their little family. 

 

It was a God known fact. Daryl was the quiet broody triplet, Connor was the shithead, and Murphy was the really social one. Carol was the one who made them work. She was able to bring him out of his shell, get Connor to not be such an asshole most of the time, and was able to keep up with Murphy’s extreme socializing. She was the best of them all. 

 

“It’s always been hard for me,” Daryl grumbled as he caressed Buttons’ neck. “I don’t like people, and people don’t like me.”

 

“I like you.” The gates to Alexandria appeared in front of them as they made a turn, robbing Aaron of any kind of response he would be able to get from Daryl. But the slight curl of the older man’s lips in an almost smile was a victory he would take any day. Something told him Daryl wasn’t one to have many friends, and it just made him want to be one of them. 

 

“I’ll take Buttons now, if you want,” Aaron offered as soon as they were through the gates. “So you can have enough time to get ready for the party.” He couldn’t help but chuckle at the face Daryl made at his words. “Remember… they’re afraid because they don’t know you.”

 

“They know you, and they’re still afraid.”

 

“But it's a little less with every day that passes.”

 

Daryl just sighed, making a goodbye signal with his hand before starting his trek back home. Aaron watched him go, shaking his head slightly. That was someone who he just knew had a heart a gold, even if he was a grumpy son of a bitch. He had so much to tell Eric about. 

 

What was waiting at home for Daryl thought, was something out of a nightmare. 

 

“You want me to what?!” The redneck asked, his voice an octave higher than usual as his knuckles turned white with how hard he was gripping the set of clothes Carol had practically slammed into his chest the moment he’d walked into their room. 

 

“I want you to shower, and then I’m going to cut your hair.”

 

“No way, lady. You’re not getting close to my fucking hair.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Daryl winced at the tone of his own words. He was tired after that whole thing with the horse, and he hadn’t expected to be ambushed the moment he got home. He was expecting something, but not the level of noise and racket clamoring through their house. “I mean, they don’t even like me. It’s not like a haircut will make a difference.”

 

Carol’s gaze softened immediately as she approached him, one of her hands touching his chest as she looked into his eyes. “I like you.”

 

“And that’s all I care about,” Daryl mumbled, letting the clothes fall from his arms as he brought his wife close, burrowing his face in the side of her neck, breathing her in.

 

“Moooom! Everyone’s ready to go!”  

 

Daryl smirked against Carol’s neck, knowing that for once he might have gotten away with not following his wife’s commands. 

 

“Laugh it up, Pookie.” Daryl squirmed as he felt Carol poke him on the ribs. “I’m still looking forward to seeing you look all dapper at the party.” He couldn’t help but snort, as she pulled away from his arms, giving him the look. “Stop it.”

 

“No one wants me there, why go somewhere I’m not wanted?”

 

“I want you there.” Daryl closed his eyes as her words reached his ears, feeling as she gently kissed his closed eyelids. “All I can ask you is to try. Try to let them see how amazing you are.”

 

He refused to open his eyes again until he heard their bedroom door close behind her. The solitude of their room mocked him once he did. 

 

-.-.-.-

 

“So you’re telling me,” Murphy said as he helped Carol put the cookies she had baked onto nice trays for them to carry to the party. “The whole plan relies on people not paying attention to you?” At Carol’s nod, he raised his hands in surrender. “We’re screwed!”

 

Mika’s laugh made both of them jump startle; they had thought they were alone. The rest of their family were supposed to be outside waiting on them, reason why Carol had decided to get Murphy all caught up on their little plan. 

 

“There’s no way you’ll be able to disappear without anyone noticing. There’s just no way someone will not miss you.” Carol rolled her eyes when Murphy just shoved a cookie towards Mika, before pushing her out of the room like she wasn’t a sentient being. 

 

“That’s why you and Connor will cause some ruckus which will allow me to slip out with no one the wiser,” Carol explained softly as she grabbed one of the now full trays and started to make her way towards the door where Mika was waiting for them - undoubtedly wanting to steal another cookie before they arrived to the party. 

 

“I still don’t like it.”

 

“You don’t have to.” Carol passed the tray to Connor as soon as they reached the porch, kissing him softly as they all started walking towards Deanna’s home, where the party was supposed to be taking place. The sun was lowering in the sky, and in around an hour at the most, it would be dark enough to make her move. Two hours at the most. 

 

“Just please be careful,” Murphy said softly over Mika’s head as they walked down the street. 

 

“Always,” Carol mumbled as she looked back over her shoulder at their house. She hated to have left Daryl to get ready on his own, she knew they were running late for the party, but it just didn’t feel good to leave him to arrive on his own. She knew how much he hated to socialize, and it just felt like being extra evil to him to leave him to arrive alone. “You know, I think-”

 

“That if you don’t check on him, he’s going to bail on us?” Connor asked, an eyebrow raised and a smile on his face as he stopped as well and followed her eyes back to their window. Carol bit her lip, trying not to grin as he shook his head at her. “Go, but don’t have too much fun without us!”

 

Carol was grinning as she pushed the tray to Rick’s hands, not waiting to hear from him, before trotting back towards the house. She was going to make sure her Pookie was presentable, and then they would get to the party. Alexandria wouldn’t know what hit them once she got Daryl Dixon to look like the southern gentleman she was sure he was ; and the best part was every look either Murphy or Daryl got from any of the women, it would be a reminder they were all hers. 

 

She wasn’t usually that type of woman, the one who liked to flaunt what she had. But after hearing some of the gossip surrounding them, some of the off-hand comments from the other women… the fact that all three of them were hers, was something that made her heart soar. 

 

As much as she absolutely adored them, loved them with all her heart and soul, she knew she would love them the same even if they weren’t as good looking as they were… They were some of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen in her life. And the biggest kicker out there… they were all  _ hers _ . 

 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING LYING DOWN, DARYL DIXON!?” 

 

Daryl had definitely not counted on his wife coming back home after she had just left with everyone else, which was clearly obvious since  he had been sprawled across  their bed… still on his dirty clothes from earlier in the day, taking a nap. 

 

He had been so deeply asleep, he hadn’t even heard the front door closing behind her, her usually alert husband had ended up jumping startling  as her words pierced his ears. His chest heaving as a knife - she had no idea from where he had gotten it - materialized in front of him.

 

“What the fuck, Carol?” Daryl gasped, the knife disappearing as he dropped it on the floor, barely missing his bare feet as it clattered around. He sat down on the mattress, one of his hands over his wildly beating heart as he tried to return his breathing to normal levels. His hands were shaking, and Carol felt a pang of regret as she made her way across the room to sit on his knee, her hands wrapping around his head as she pushed it against her breast. “Are you in a hurry to become a widow? What the fuck?”

 

Carol murmured sweet nothings into his ear as she tried to help calm him down. They were all still running on that fight or flight instinct which had kept them alive for this long, a few days in a safe home wasn’t going to change that. Especially when it came to Daryl, who had never lived in an environment where he didn’t need to be ready at the drop of a dime… just like she had. 

 

“Sorry, Pookie,” Carol murmured as she felt his breathing start to calm down, pushing him back so she could push his hair from his face and caress his cheek. “You should have already been ready, though.”

 

The annoyed grunt from her dear husband made her smile against the top of his head, as he pulled her back into his arms, burrowing his face in the middle of her chest. “I don’t want to go.” There was a certain whine to his voice reminding her of a little boy, and she couldn’t help but hug her man closer. 

 

“You gotta.”

 

With a grunt, Daryl moved her off his lap to sprawl on their bed as he got off and stomped his way to the bathroom. Carol smiled as she watched him begin to strip without a care in the world. It had taken them so much effort to get to where they were, to the point where her baby boy was comfortable with being completely vulnerable in front of her. 

 

“Aren’t you going to offer to wash my back?” Daryl called over his shoulder as he started the shower, blushing slightly as he finally caught on to her obvious perusal of  his naked body. 

 

“If we do that, we won’t get to the party on time.”

 

Daryl just raised an eyebrow, reminding her with that look, that he did not give a single fuck about the party. “Just take your shower, I’ll trim your hair to look less like a hermit and if you get on your fancy clothes without much fuss… there might be a reward for you at the end of the night.”

 

Carol’s grin just widened as she saw Daryl weigh her offer. 

 

“Would you do that thing with your tongue?” His voice was low and it sent a bolt of need through her veins, his eyes not meeting hers, but a slight blush rose on his cheeks. 

 

“If you let me cut your hair at least two inches, I will.” She could see him considering her proposition, his cheeks darkening as his mind wandered to what her promise would entail. 

 

“Alright.”

 

Carol smiled as she watched him get into the shower. It was a win-win situation for her if she was being honest. She  _ loved  _ doing that thing with her tongue to him anyway. 

 

-.-.-

 

The party was boring. 

 

Mika huffed as she rolled her eyes as one of the few kids her age tried to once more get her to play around with him. He was cute, in a whimp way, and she just felt tired. She didn’t really want to meet more people, and if another old lady pinched her cheeks, she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t use some of the knife moves Daryl had taught her on them. 

 

These people were weak, they had no idea of how to live outside the walls, and she was sure none of them would survive outside an hour, much less a whole day. After Lizzie … Mika had to stop there, trying to pay attention to whatever Sam was babbling about. She couldn’t think about her sister; her heart broke every time she thought about her. 

 

She wasn’t mad at Carol for having killed her. And that made her feel worse sometimes. Lizzie was her sister, but she hadn’t been good. Murphy had said she had the right to feel whatever way she did, and some days she felt mad with anger. Some days she felt like if Lizzie was to stand in front of her right now, after what she had gone through the past month and days, she would be able to fight back. 

 

Mika wasn’t going to allow herself to be a victim ever again. And her Mama Carol and Papa Bear understood that better than anyone else. She had seen her Papa Bear’s back, and she just knew … no one could ever hurt her Papa the way he was now. He was the strongest person she knew, next to her Mama Carol, so that meant someone had hurt him when he was little and unable to defend himself. Just like her. 

 

“Do you want an A?” Sam’s shy question made Mika return to where she was. She was in a party, and if her Mama Carol had to pretend to be the perfect housewife to fit in, she could do her part. She could play the perfect little girl. For her family she would. 

 

“Sure!” The bright smile she gave Sam felt somehow fake in her face, and the raised an eyebrow at Connor’s expression which stated clearly that he knew there was something going on inside her head. Her new parents weren’t anything like her old ones. With her mom and dad, she could just pretend to be alright and they were never the wiser. And after her mom died in the car crash … her dad had barely had any time left for her after taking care of Lizzie. 

 

“I’m sorry, laddie,” Murphy said appearing out of nowhere, startling Sam. “Can I grab Mika for a minute?” Sam frowned at the request, looking from Murphy’s smiling face to Mika’s. “You should go and get some of those cookies now anyway, lad. I think that’s the last batch…”

 

Mika tried not to laugh as Sam’s eyes widened and with a mumbled goodbye he shot off towards the table holding the aforementioned cookies. She was swept into Murphy’s arms before Sam had even made it close to the food table. 

 

“You alright, darling?” Murphy asked softly as he let her burrow her face against his chest. Her arms just sneaked around him, hugging him as strongly as her little arms allowed her. 

 

“I don’t like them, Muffin,” Mika confessed softly, for the middle triplet’s ears only. “I want to go home.”

 

“Do you want to wait for your Mama? Or do you want us to go now?” Mika took a deep breath, trying to calm down and blink away the tears which had started burning in her eyes. She was done being weak, she was going to wait for her Mama and be brave. “Because we can go now if you want.”

 

“I’ll wait for Mama.” Her voice was soft and it made Murphy’s heart hurt. He kept her hugged close to him, his eyes meeting Deanna’s across the room. The older woman looked concerned for their little girl, but he was able to dismiss part of her worry with a soft smile. No one with two working neurons would expect them to be perfectly fine after coming from outside the walls after so long. 

 

And Deanna definitely had more than two working neurons. 

 

“We’ll wait for your Mama together. How does that sound, squirt?” Murphy’s eyes were full of tenderness as he looked down at Mika still wrapped in his arms. 

 

“I’m good with that, Muffin.”

 

“Good.”

 

-.-.-.

 

“I look stupid,” Daryl grumbled as he opened the kitchen door to allow Carol to pass through first. He was pulling at the sleeves of the button up she had managed to wrangle him into, allowing him to wear his vest over it as if it was protective armor. After all, she wanted him to look good and that vest just made him look yummy in her eyes. “I look like an asshole.”

 

“You look very handsome,” Carol said with a smile as she started to walk down the street, her hand purposely bumping into his as they walked close together. She wanted to entwine their fingers and never let go, but the stupid role they were playing was making it impossible for her to give her husband that small comfort and it was killing her inside. “I’m sure you’ll catch more than one lady's eyes tonight.”

 

“Staph.” Carol snorted as Daryl bumped her shoulder with his, chuckling lowly. 

 

“I’m sure Olivia won’t take her eyes off of you all night.”

 

“Are you trying to get me to file for divorce tonight?” Daryl joked softly, a mock glare on his face as he looked down at her. “Because I would have basis on spousal abuse... first you try to kill me, now you’re embarrassing me on purpose.”

 

“Oh really?” Carol said, a finger on his chest as she took a step closer. There was a teasing smile on her face which made Daryl want to kiss her madly. They hadn’t even noticed they had stopped in the middle of the street, the lone lights coming from inside one of the houses the only illumination they had. “So that means I wouldn’t have to do that thing?”

 

“Listen, sweetheart,” Daryl murmured his hand coming up to his chest and wrapping around hers. “A deal is a deal, and I was promised you and your tongue and I-”

 

“Daryl?” 

 

The two of them jumped away from each other as if they had been burned. Daryl was glad there was no public illumination around the safe zone, allowing the darkness of night to hide his blush. Aaron was standing on his porch, light at his back as he looked at the couple in the middle of the street. 

 

“I thought you were going to the party out there,” Daryl grumbled as he pointed at the end of the street, while his other hand immediately went to his mouth to bite the side of his thumb - his go to calming gesture whenever he was nervous. 

 

“Oh, I was never going to go there. I used Eric’s ankle as an excuse not to go.”

 

“Then why the hell did you tell me I should?” Daryl asked, shooting a perplexed look at Carol.

 

“I said I tried, and I see that you are.” Aaron smiled, first at him and then at Carol. “I take it you’re to thank for the dashing haircut.”

 

Carol’s smile grew as she saw the sincere openness in Aaron as he looked again at her husband with real fondness. “Eric and I, we’re about to have some dinner… you can join us if you want.”

 

“I can’t,” Carol politely apologized, “I have to catch up with Connor and the kids at the party, but I think Daryl would like that.”

 

“I would?” Daryl asked softly, looking at Carol with wonder. She just smiled softly at him and nodded. “Yeah, I would like that.”

 

“Come on, man,” Aaron said as he started to turn to go inside, shooting a smile over his shoulder at Carol. “It’s a pretty serious spaghetti.”

 

“I’m jealous already,” Carol murmured to Daryl as Aaron walked back inside.

 

“Are you sure?” Daryl asked, his hand itching to touch her as they stood close to each other. 

 

“He seems like a good guy, and you like him.” Daryl snorted at that. “I know you, Declan. And you like him; you’ll have a better time than at that stupid party anyway.”

 

“I’ll ask for leftovers.”

 

“Good boy.” A quick kiss on his cheek was her departure gift as he watched his wife’s behind as she walked away from him and towards the noisy house at the end of the street. 

 

“That’s a hell of a lady.” Daryl’s eyes whipped fast from his wife to find Aaron watching him as he watched her, and he could feel his face warming with the tell-tale blush. His new friend was still smiling as they both made their way inside his residence, Daryl’s silence at his words letting him know everything Aaron needed to confirm his suspicions. 

 

He was sure he was going to beat Eric on their bet. Aaron smiled as he closed the door behind Daryl, he was going to enjoy his chocolate winnings and would not share with his boyfriend at all. 

 

-.-.-.

 

Walking into a party after having spent the best part of the last couple of years in mortal peril was one of the most bizarre experiences in Carol’s life. And that included the dead rising to walk the earth once again. 

 

It was something out of her nightmarish past. The only thing missing was the complete and utter fear she felt deep in her heart back then; there were real dangers out there in the world, but she wasn’t the damsel in distress anymore. She was a warrior who would not kneel to fear. She had a family to protect; she had bowed to fear’s wills one time too many in her past. 

 

Her presence was barely taken into account, the people around her to absorbed in their own inane conversations to take notice of the newcomer. She was completely invisible in there, and she loved it. She could see Zach hanging out with Carl and some other teenagers, her son still of that age between being a kid and an adult. And she loved he was giving himself an opportunity to be a kid for once. 

 

“I’m glad you were able to come,” Deanna’s voice came from Carol’s side, startling her a little. 

 

“And I’m very glad you did this for us.” The smile on her face felt forced, but she could see in the leader’s face she was none the wiser about her ordeal. This people would see what they wanted to see, either when it came to other people or the situation of the world in general. 

 

“Here.” Deanna passed her a glass with red wine, “this is from my husband’s own private stash; he’s somewhere around here introducing himself to someone.”

 

“Thank you,” Carol answered with a overly-bright smile as she took a small sip. Her eyes were already searching for the rest of her family, a small blush appearing on her face as her eyes met Connor’s across the room. 

 

“Your brother in law has a really close relationship with your daughter, doesn’t he?” It took Carol a moment to be able to come back from where her thoughts were wandering, the look Connor had given her together with her promise to Daryl fresh in her mind. 

 

“Murphy?” The fake smile was again on her face as she turned to look at Deanna. “We’ve been through a lot together, and Mika knows the boys will do anything to keep her safe.” Carol giggled softly as she got a little closer to the leader, a conspiratorial tone in her voice. “Also Murphy is like a little kid himself so…”

 

“I can see it,” Deanna said as she smiled looking at where Murphy still had Mika in his arms. The little girl at least was talking with Sam now, even if she made sure she was still in her father’s embrace. “I’m glad those two are becoming friends… Sam is - “ Deanna stopped, looking briefly to where Jessie and Pete were standing together, “a very nice boy.”

 

Carol was an expert at reading between the lines, and she hated what she gleaned from what Deanna wasn’t saying. She had a bad feeling about Pete when she met him, the way he looked at her reminding her too much of Ed for some reason. And by the way Jessie was standing next to him, tense while her eyes moved quickly, looking at the people around them … Carol was starting to get an idea of why.  

 

And by Deanna’s words, the leader already had a good idea about the situation. 

 

“I’m going to go check on her,” Carol apologized to the older woman. “She hasn’t been around this many people in a while, I’m concerned she might not be taking it well.”

 

“Oh my,” Deanna said a hand to her chest as she looked concerned towards her family. “I can imagine; go take care of your child.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Carol could feel the people’s eyes on her as she moved across the room, opening her arms for Mika to burrow herself in them as soon as she was close. Her eyes met Murphy’s as she kissed the top of the girl’s head. They all looked weary, as safe as they seemed to be there was a certain weariness in them that was going to take a long time to go away, if ever. 

 

“What’s this?” Carol asked, looking at Mika’s hand who had sneaked into hers as soon as the girl pulled back, seeing a bright red ‘A’ on the back of it. 

 

“It’s Sam’s,” Mika explained, “he’s stamping everyone’s hands… it’s like to say we belong here now, right Sammy?” 

 

Carol watched as the boy blushed slightly, biting his lip as he played with his stamp. 

 

“See, Care,” Murphy said smiling encouragingly at the boy, “I got one.”

 

“Do I get one?”

 

“Are you the lady who cooked those amazing cookies?” Sam asked softly, eyes finally meeting Carol’s. Her heart broke as she finally got to gaze down at him. There was a sadness in his eyes she hadn’t seen in a long time. She hated to see her suspicions about Pete weren’t unfounded, and the proof was looking up at her with big blue eyes. Eyes which reflected the same kind of pain Sophia’s had shown once upon a time. 

 

“Yes! She’s my mom! And she’s the best cook ever!” Mika exclaimed, bringing Carol out of her thoughts. Sam was smiling widely now, and Carol smiled in return. Mika was still hanging onto her hand tightly, although she seemed less leery of the boy as he stamped Carol’s hand. 

 

“I really liked them.” 

 

The kids continued to chatter among them, and Carol saw as Sam’s eyes kept finding his father across the room at all times. He didn’t outright show it, and he was very sneaky about it; but he never spent long without knowing where exactly the man was. 

 

Carol felt Connor’s arms sneak around her waist as she felt him at her back, and her eyes met Murphy over the kid’s heads. There was another small issue to deal with in Alexandria, and she knew they would have to do it with the utmost delicacy.

 

But first … first they had some weapons to steal. 

 

-.-.-

 

Aaron couldn’t help but observe Daryl. 

 

The man himself was a contradiction. He was rough, but at the same time he was gentle. He had all the bearings to be violent and unforgiving; and yet Daryl was helping him set up the table to have dinner with Eric putting down every piece of china with so much care, unfathomable coming from the man who had almost beat Nicholas to a bloody pulp . 

 

It wasn’t like being gay made you hyper aware of your surroundings… but in a way it did if you wanted to avoid being beaten up - especially if you were from a small town like Aaron himself was. He was used to being observant, and taking  everything into notice. He still saw how the people inside Alexandria showed signs of being uncomfortable - if not disgusted - whenever the two of them showed any kind of public display of affection. But yet … Daryl didn’t. 

 

“How’s the ankle?” Daryl asked Eric as he pulled his chair back, allowing Eric to hop right into his seat. 

 

“It’s doing better; that’s sweet of you to ask.” Aaron didn’t have to hide his smile as he watched from the kitchen as Daryl moved to sit on the chair beside Eric. Looking anxiously around as he found himself stuck with practically strangers, and a bad case of being shit at small talk. 

 

“I was telling Eric,” Aaron called from the kitchen, watching as the two men half turned from the table to look at him as he spoke, “how good you were at getting that horse to calm down.”

 

“I love horses,” Eric said, looking at Daryl. “They don’t tend to love me, but I sure love them.”

 

Daryl snorted, hiding his smile behind the glass of red wine Eric had served him soon after they had sat down. 

 

“It’s true,” Aaron added as he put first a plate full of spaghetti in front of Daryl, then one in front of Eric before going back to get his. “Last time we went on vacation before all this, one of them threw him off his back.”

 

“That hurts like a bitch,” Daryl murmured in agreement, giving Eric a look of approval.

 

“Thank you!” 

 

The silence that followed was less tense than before, and Aaron watched as Daryl’s posture began to relax as he finally started to eat. 

 

“Erm, thanks,” Daryl mumbled between noodles after he slurped a good portion of spaghetti in, remembering at the last minute to grab the cloth napkin to wipe his mouth with it. He could see Carol’s disgruntled look already, at his lack of manners, and he couldn’t help but smile a little. “It’s good.” A compliment should be enough to counter his lack of manners, he knew Carol hated it, but she never said anything to him. After all she loved him, but these people? These people barely knew him.  

 

“Mmm, when you're out there.” Aaron stopped to wipe his mouth before continuing. “If you happen to be in a store or something, Mrs. Neudermeyer is really looking for a pasta maker.”

 

-.-.-.-.

 

“Mama,” Mika whined just loud enough for Deanna and Jessie, who had moved closer to where they were standing, to glance at her with concern. “Do you think we can leave?” Mika looked warily around, burrowing her face against Carol’s chest as she sneaked her arms around her waist. 

 

“Are you alright, princess?” Connor asked looking concerned as he tried to catch the girl’s eyes. “Do you want me to take you home?”

 

“I want Mama to take me,” Mika said softly, turning her face to look at Connor. Her eyes were red rimmed, and it broke Connor’s heart. “Please?”

 

Connor nodded, before looking back to Carol’s concerned face. They were supposed to use the party as a distraction to get the guns this night, but their family was first… always. “Will you be okay getting back home alone?” Connor asked, the hand which had been previously running up and down the distraught Mika’s back was now softly caressing Carol’s cheek. At her nod he continued, “Are you sure you don’t want me to take her home; you just got here.”

 

“It’s alright, Cookie,” Carol answered softly, turning her face to softly kiss the inside of his wrist. “We’ve had a busy couple of days. You guys stay and we will go and have some girl’s time at home.” She then turned her attention down at Mika. “Let's just say goodbye to Deanna and then we can leave, alright?” 

 

Mika nodded, giving Sam a smile before she grabbed hold of Carol’s hand as she went to say their goodbyes to their host. 

 

Carol hated that they were going to have to put a pause on their plan, but she gave Rick a look on her way out … her family would always come first. Mika and Zach had become her priority, together with the boys. They were not only going to survive, they were going to live. And if Mika was feeling overwhelmed, then her little girl was first. They would be able to survive one more day; they were good like that. 

 

“Let’s go home,” Carol said softly, putting her arm across Mika’s shoulders as she started to walk them towards their home once they were out of Deanna’s house. 

 

“Well …” Mika smiled up devilishly at Carol, reminding her of Connor for some reason. “I was thinking that we could now go get those guns that you guys wanted.”

 

“Mika!”

 

“There’s more than one good actress in this family, Mama.”

 

-.-.-.-

 

When Eric let slip that Aaron had something to ask him, thousands of things came into Daryl’s mind. None of them stayed up front as the other man showed him to their garage. Motorcycle parts were everywhere. Enough of them that with the addition of a few could become a couple of bikes … one for Eric and Aaron, and one for him and his brothers. 

 

“When I got the place, there was that frame and some parts and equipment. Whoever lived here built them.” Aaron shifted from one foot to the other as he showed the place to Daryl. 

 

“It's a lot of parts for one bike.” Daryl’s eyebrow was raised as he looked at the other man, a small smile threatening to escape as Aaron looked sheepishly at him.

 

“Whenever I came across any parts out there, I brought them back. I didn't know what I'd need. I always thought I'd learn how to do it, but I get the feeling you already know what to do with it.” Daryl nodded, taking part of a carburetor in a hand, before dropping it back on the workbench. “And the thing is, you're going to need a bike.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I told Deanna not to give you a job because I think I have one for you.” Aaron approached Daryl, face honest and open. “I'd like you to be Alexandria's other recruiter. I don't want Eric risking his life anymore.”

 

“But you want me risking mine, right? Because I’m expendable.”

 

“No!” Aaron said, taking a step closer to him. “I would never-”

 

“But there’s nothing here for me, right? I don’t belong, I’m just a freak that belongs out there.”

 

“You belong here, with your family.” Daryl snorted, taking one of the wrenches and feeling it’s weight on his hand. A few years ago his anger would have made him throw the wrench at Aaron’s head - he had done that to Merle more than once before - but he knew Aaron hadn’t meant anything wrong with his request. It was Daryl’s own head playing games with him; he had heard from Aaron some of what his own head had been trying to yell at him since they had come into the community the other day. He didn’t belong. 

 

“I mean it, Daryl.” Aaron sighed, taking another step and lowering his voice. “You belong here, with your brothers and with your … Carol.” 

 

Daryl couldn’t help but look like a deer caught in headlights as Aaron said the name of his wife, clearing his throat as he looked anywhere but where the other man was. 

 

“I’m the last person to judge you … we love who we love.”

 

“It’s not like that,” Daryl grumbled, glaring at Aaron as he dared to make it seem like they were doing something wrong. 

 

“I… I saw you in the woods.” Aaron looked pained, like he was feeling what he thought Daryl was supposed to be feeling. “You’re in love with your brother’s wife.”

 

Daryl glared at the other man, sneering at him as he answered. “I’m in love with  _ my  _ wife!”

 

Aaron looked more surprised than afraid. If he had been less used to the gruff way Daryl usually spoke he would have probably been pissing his pants. Instead he was looking at him in wonder. 

 

“I thought she was Connor’s wife…” 

 

Daryl shrugged, his eyes looking everywhere but at the man standing in front of him. His brothers were going to kick his ass for blowing their cover, and all because of his stupid temper. 

 

“She’s your wife then?” Daryl nodded, his thumb making its way to his mouth. He knew Carol would know something was up the moment they met back at the house; he was in so much trouble. “Not Connor’s then?”

 

“Well…” Daryl sighed, closing his eyes before taking a leap. He considered himself to be a good judge of character, he usually thought he was good at reading people… and Aaron seemed like someone he could trust. Still, he was going to be getting so much shit from his brothers. 

 

“Wait,” Aaron said his hands on his hips as he looked confused at Daryl. “Is Carol married to the two of you?”

 

“And Murphy,” Daryl mumbled, thumb back in his mouth.

 

“Oh.”

 

Daryl nodded, eyes still on the ground. 

  
  


“That’s… cool?” Aaron gulped when Daryl’s eyes were suddenly on him, he was glaring at him but at the same time Aaron could see there was uncertainty in his gaze. “I get it, though.” Aaron gave Daryl a small smile. “You don’t know us, and you don’t know how the others might react to that… it was smart.”

 

“It was Carol’s idea. She’s the smart one.” 

 

Aaron smiled, shaking his head as he watched Daryl blush slightly. “She’s one lucky lady.”

 

“We’re the lucky ones,” Daryl grumbled, feeling how his blush just spread further across his face. 

 

“So will you do it?” Aaron asked after a slightly awkward silence fell upon them. “You know what you’re doing, you’re great at reading people … and I understand sometimes these walls start to close in on you.” Aaron continued to talk while he watched as Daryl started to take off the tarp Aaron had thrown over the half built bike. “The main reason why I want you to help me recruit is because you and your brother, you knew I was on your side; you do know the difference between a good and a bad person.”

 

Daryl looked at Aaron. The other man had crossed his arms over his chest and was looking anxiously at him. “I would have to talk about it with Carol and my brothers, they might not like it, but… thanks for thinking of me.” Daryl gave Aaron a small smile, getting one in return. 

 

“That’s good enough for me.”

 

-.-.-.

 

Mika huffed as she crossed her arms in front of her chest as she waited right outside the armory for Carol to finish her errand. She had asked her mother to allow her to help her, and because of that, she had been tasked to be Carol’s lookout. It felt in a way like a cop out, the job being boring as hell as she stood outside in the dark; but at least she was helping. 

 

She didn’t want to go back out there, to live among the walkers, worried all the time. If Carol and the boys getting weapons without Deanna knowing meant they could stay within the walls, and most of all… safe? She didn’t mind breaking a few rules. 

 

“Where’s your mom?”

 

Mika was barely able to stop herself from slamming the knife - which had appeared like magic - in her hand into Sam’s chest as she turned around startled by his sudden appearance. 

 

“Don’t fucking do that!”

 

Sam frowned, looking as Mika put her knife back in her sheath. “You’re not supposed to say the f word, you know?”

 

“Fucking blow me.”

 

“Blow you? What does that even mean?”

 

Mika’s glare softened, looking puzzled for a moment. “I have no idea, but Murphy tells that to Daryl all the time when he’s pissed.” 

 

“Anyway… what are you doing here? Is your mom in there? What is she doing?” Sam shot question after question as he moved to try and walk past Mika towards the armory door; his way being cut off by her small body. 

 

“There’s nothing to see, just run along.”

 

“But your mom’s in there! What is she doing in the armory.”

 

“She’s not in the armory, why would you say that?” Mika’s voice had risen just a smidge, her hands on her hips as her glaring intensified. 

 

“I can see her moving inside, through the window.”

 

“Listen to me … ” Mika sneered, taking a step closer to Sam, her small hand making a fist on the front of his polo shirt. “You didn’t see a thing, nothing at all.”

 

“But she’s right there!” Sam’s voice was higher, a little bit louder than Mika would have liked.  She looked nervously look over her shoulder - Carol away from the window at the moment - before taking a deep breath before returning her eyes over the boy in front of her. 

 

“Look, Sam,” Mika said, her voice low, “you didn’t see anything here, if someone asks you didn’t see my mom, or me, here tonight.”

 

“But I did see you! And I can’t lie to my mom! I tell her everything!” Mika couldn’t help but roll her eyes, scoffing as she tightened her hold on the boy’s shirt, pulling him down to her level. He was a couple of inches taller than her, but what she lacked in height she made up for with experience. She had known kids like him, once upon a time. She had been a kid like him, back when they were in the prison … but she couldn’t go back now, she was a MacDixon now, and MacDixons did everything for their family. 

 

“Listen to me, Sam,” Mika sneered her face close to the boy’s, “you can’t tell anyone, especially your mom, that you saw us here… because if you do - “ Mika could see Sam was not yet afraid of her, he didn’t understand the dire consequences of his actions; he had no idea what a simple little thing like telling - or not telling, like back in the prison when she had known Lizzie had been feeding walkers and she’d kept quiet - could entail.

 

“I can promise you, one day you just won’t wake up in your bed… do you know where you will be?” Sam shook his head. “You will wake up outside. I know my brother; he would do anything to keep our  family safe.”

 

“Even hurt a kid?”

 

“Anything,” Mika’s voice was barely above a whisper now. “You will wake up outside of these walls, tied to a tree… far enough that no one will hear you scream, or at least no one alive, that is.” Mika tried not to shudder at her own words. She was having to think on the go and all she could think was of how Lizzie had scared little Luke back when they were in the prison. “You will smell them before you can see them, their putrid smell as they come closer and closer. Then you will hear them … their moans as they search for you, so you can be their next meal.”

 

“You will scream and scream, terrified as they walk towards you.” Her memories of standing in the middle of the woods, back to back with Lizzie as she pointed her trembling gun towards were the sound was coming from slammed back into her mind. “You will think someone will come for you, but no one will … you’re alone.”

 

“The sound will only attract more of them, and they will stumble over each other as they throw themselves at you. You will continue to scream as they tear into your skin, ripping you apart piece by piece until there’s nothing left.” Mika could feel Sam trembling as she finally let go of his shirt, staying close as Sam looked at her with wide terrified eyes. “As I said, we would do anything to protect our family … or, you could keep your trap shut, and promise you won’t tell anyone about this, and nothing will happen.”

 

“And my mom will bake you cookies, lots of them.” 

 

Sam nodded, taking a step away from the shorter girl. Mika wasn’t sure if Sam’s expression was of horrified awe or of shock, but she was almost sure he wasn’t going to say anything. 

 

“Everything alright?” Carol’s voice suddenly came from behind Mika, her mom’s slender hand resting over her shoulder. “Are you alright, Sam? You’re looking a little pale.”

 

Sam’s eyes moved from Carol back to Mika, before returning to the elder woman. Carol raised her eyebrow in question as she saw the boy gulp before answering. “It’s alright, ma’am. I just wanted to know if you were going to be baking any more cookies.”

 

Carol squeezed Mika’s shoulder as she smiled sweetly at the boy in front of them. She had heard the end part of Mika’s speech and although slightly concerned about her adoptive daughter’s ability to come up with gruesome scenarios, she was proud of her ability to do her part in keeping their family safe. 

 

“If you want me to, Sam,” Carol said with a smile on her face. “I was thinking of using the time alone with Mika at home to bake some more. Do you want to join us?”

 

She saw as the boy’s eyes darted towards the Monroe’s house for a moment, as if he was measuring what outcome would be better for him. Carol couldn’t help but feel a pain in her heart when he chose to go with the girl who had almost made him pee his pants terrified instead of going back to his own family.

 

Sam nodded sharply, grabbing onto her free hand as the three of them started walking back towards what was their home. Carol squeezed his hand softly as she felt him tremble still. Apparently she had found herself another stray. 

 

\--.-.-.

 

Carol was still up when the boys finally made it home. Daryl first, finding Carol already in their room ready for bed. Daryl was pensive as he slowly started getting rid of his vest, shirt and boots, before crawling over Carol to drop himself at her side on their bed. 

 

“You smell like tomato sauce,” Carol said as she put a marker on the book she was reading before leaving it on top of the side table. The only light in the room coming from her bedside lamp. 

 

“I truly hope so, had spaghetti for dinner.”

 

“Seems like you had some fun,” Carol murmured against the side of his head, placing a sweet kiss against his hair as he rested against her chest. 

 

“Not too much fun.”

 

Carol chuckled, tutting as she took his hand in hers and noticed the abuse his thumb suffered. “Want to tell my why did you harmed my property?” 

 

Daryl shuddered as he felt, since he was still resting his head against her chest, as she took his abused thumb into her mouth sucking on it softly. “Well?” He sighed, not wanting to worry her but at the same time not really wanting to refuse Aaron’s proposal. Going out there to find people would give him a purpose, something he had felt he was lacking since they had made their way into the community. 

 

“I’ll tell you later,” Daryl sighed into her collarbone, dropping a kiss to her freckled skin. “I just want one night of peace and quiet.”

 

The moment was broken as they started hearing the drunken singing of the other two members of their bed, their voices becoming louder and louder as the sound drifted through the open window. 

 

“So much for peace and quiet.”

 

“You love us anyway,” Daryl murmured as he closed his eyes, content to lie in her arms - not jumping as their front door slammed open and the drunken singing moved inside. 

 

“God knows that I do.”

 


	11. Spend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's actually being a good writer and is writing every day? ME! That's ME!
> 
> But c'mon guys... I love you, and I see you're still reading this... but c'mon, throw me a bone (comment) or two... I know I've been bad and I haven't been updating as I should... but just one comment? two?
> 
> Also... I'm already 2k into the new chapter... hopefully it'll be done by next Tuesday... and the final one the Tuesday after that.

**Chapter XI**

**Spend**

 

“You better return to me in one piece, Daryl Declan, or not even God will be able to get you out of the beat down I promise I’m going to give you!” 

 

Daryl tried not to smile as he pulled Carol back into his arms, hugging her close while burrowing his face in the space between her shoulder and neck. It had been a tense couple of days, ever since he’d told them about Aaron’s offer … and how he wanted to accept it. 

 

He had been a little nervous about how Carol would take it, but he should have known. He should have known his wife was incredible and that she understood him better than he understood himself sometimes. Carol had just sighed, burrowing her face against his chest as her arms held onto him tightly. She had known he needed the freedom being outside of the walls gave him, that he needed the peace of being away from prying eyes … he needed to be able to get lost in the woods and do good. He needed to be  _ himself _ . And Daryl Dixon was one with nature. 

 

“I will, sweetheart,” Daryl murmured, pulling back so he could rest his forehead against Carol’s. “I will come back to you. Nine lives, remember?”

 

A little of the tension she had had been carrying since the moment he’d told them he was going out there, seemed to evaporate. She moved to push her nose against his softly, before giving him a soft kiss. “You’d better.”

 

“You have to go, otherwise you’re going to be late,” Connor said from where he was standing by their open door. They had decided to do their goodbyes at home, especially since only Aaron - and probably Eric by default - knew about them. “And you don’t want to make your partner wait, do you?”

 

Daryl shook his head, his eyes refusing to meet Connor’s as he went around picking up the rest of his things. While Carol had been generally okay with the idea of him partnering with Aaron, his siblings had been a completely different matter. Connor was being his usual asshole self, while Murphy refused to speak with him. 

 

He missed his asshole of a brother’s voice, and that was something Daryl never thought would happen; at least not while they were occupying the same space.

 

“Take care, brother,” Connor said as he stopped Daryl as he was about to walk past him, a hand on his forearm. “Do not make me come and get you.”

 

Daryl snorted, pulling his arm away from Connor before pulling the other man into a hug. “Like you would have any chance of finding me. I think Mika is a better tracker than you by now.”

 

“Sod off,” Connor snarked as he pushed his youngest brother away. He watched as Carol jumped into Daryl’s arms once again, kissing him deeply before she pulled away on her own, moving to wrap her arms around his waist as they both stood there watching as Daryl tried to pull himself together. 

 

“Alright,” Daryl grumbled, taking a deep breath as he pushed his bag further up his shoulder. “Tell Murph -”

 

“I will.” 

 

Daryl sighed once again, giving the two of them a small smile before he finally psyched himself up to walk out of the room. 

 

Connor pulled Carol further into his arms as the two of them tried to pretend it didn’t almost physically hurt to hear the bike start, and hear him driving away from them. They knew he needed this, and they knew it was for his own good. He was very capable - better than any of them really - of staying alive and coming back to them. 

 

But that didn’t mean it didn’t feel like Daryl was taking a big part of them with him. 

 

-.-.-

 

Murphy refused to think about the sound of that motorcycle leaving the walls. He had left their bed as soon as he had heard Daryl get up to shower, sneaking out like a thief in the night. He couldn’t do it; he was not strong enough to let his brother leave him behind and act like nothing was wrong with that concept. 

 

He couldn’t even think about one of his brothers leaving without feeling like his heart was going to stop beating. 

 

So he had run. He knew Tobin was going to do some work early enough, and he had run away. Daryl had better come back in one piece, because if he didn’t, Murphy would kill him himself. 

 

He had met Zach on his way out, all ready to also leave the walls for the first time; but he had a very specific job to do. They were going to leave on their first proper run since they’d gotten here. 

 

“Be safe, lad,” Murphy murmured as the two of them stopped at the fork which would take them on different paths. “Don’t you dare break your mother’s heart.”

 

“I won’t, Murph. Be careful out there!” Zach called out as he started walking away from the Irishman, a grin on his face as he squinted against the sun to try and catch a last look at Murphy. 

 

“I’m always careful.”

 

“No, you aren’t!”

 

“Don’t you dare tell your mother that!”

 

Murphy was still chuckling by the time he reached Tobin and his crew. The bad feeling he had woken up with - the one he attributed to Daryl leaving - was still there as strong as three days ago when his brother had told them he was leaving with Aaron; and he really didn’t think it was going to go away any time soon. 

 

-.-.-.

 

Zach’s smile disappeared the moment Murphy was too far away to see him. He was nervous, really nervous. Aiden and Nicholas really had no true knowledge of what the outside world was like.  So they’d been on a few runs, he snorted derisively to himself.  They were babes in the woods. And he really - just as Murphy had put it into words - didn’t want to break Carol’s heart by not coming back. 

 

He knew that any of them not coming back would hurt their family, but if he died on them? That would break his new found mother. He knew what had happened to Sophia, and what had happened with Lizzie as well; sweet Carol couldn’t take another loss of that magnitude. 

 

And he wasn’t going to be the cause of her tears. 

 

“Are we ready?” Zach asked as he made his way to Glenn’s side, helping him with one of the bags the older man was carrying. 

 

“Thanks,” Glenn murmured as they dropped the bags in the back of the van. “Eugene is explaining to Aiden what is it that he needs; we’re just waiting on that.”

 

“Are Tweedledee and Tweedledum ready?”

 

Glenn chuckled, shaking his head as he moved back to say goodbye to Maggie just as Noah and Tara reached him. 

 

“I heard you talking to Holly last night, how did that go?” Tara asked Noah, a teasing smile on her face as she wrapped herself over Zach’s back like she was a koala. 

 

“Why do you want to know?”

 

“Is Noah already breaking hearts?” Zach asked, throwing a playful punch to the other boy’s arm. “Go, heartthrob!” 

 

“Nothing happened!” Noah’s voice was higher than usual, prompting the two others to burst into giggles as they started walking back to get their guns. 

 

“It’s an innocent question,” Tara said as she moved closer to Noah. “Don’t make me hurt you to get the information out of you!”

 

Zach still felt scared as he got his gear in order and climbed into the van, a clearly more anxious Eugene at his side. But he had to believe they were strong enough, the people from Alexandria were less than them; and they knew how to take care of each other. 

 

He was glad Carol wasn’t there to see him off, since he was sure she would have been able to see past his mask. After all, it was a mask he had learned to put on because of her. He felt as if he had left his heart behind the moment the gate closed behind him. He just needed to stay focused and remember everything they had taught him so he could come back. 

 

He was going to come back. Even though the CD player blasting that awful mix Aiden had come up with probably wouldn’t. 

 

-.-.-.

 

There was something going on with Sam and Mika; something had happened and he hadn’t been informed. And Connor hated to be left in the dark. 

 

It was the third morning Sam had chosen to sit right next to Mika. His daughter had just rolled her eyes the first morning, and allowed the slightly older boy to stay close. Half the time he wasn’t sure if the boy was smitten with Mika, if he was completely terrified of her, or if he was just lonely. After all, the two of them were two of the oldest kids in the ‘young kids’ group. 

 

“Is there something you wish to say to the rest of the class, Miss MacDixon?” Connor tried to keep his smirk off his face as Mika glared at him for calling her out in front of the rest of the students. 

 

“I was just explaining to Sam what a big twa-”

“Mika!” 

 

“I was just telling him what I heard from Uncle Murph.” Connor did let the smile blossom across his face as his daughter looked up at him with a face of complete innocence. He loved that her devilish personality was being allowed to flourish now that they were behind the safety of the walls. He loved it, and he loved her for it. 

 

The other kids were looking at them with confusion, and Connor couldn’t help but notice how Sam had apparently retreated into himself the moment he had raised his voice to stop Mika from causing the rest of the class to go home and ask their parents what  _ ‘twat’  _ meant. 

 

There was something clearly going on, and he couldn’t wait to find out what it was. 

 

“Mika, you’re going to have to stay after class to help me organize everything.” He saw his daughter open her mouth to protest, but she seemed to think again and stayed silent. 

 

“Good. So let’s continue where we left off… Does anyone know what this is?”

 

-.-.

 

Zach ended up going with Tara and Eugene as they did their side of the perimeter check. He hadn’t been told, but the look on Glenn’s face as he moved to follow them said everything. They all knew Eugene was practically useless in a confrontation, and Tara needed back up. Glenn and Noah were both good shots, and were generally adept to handle anything. 

 

And Nicholas and Aiden weren’t really their priority. If one of the two got eaten because they were too dumb to know how to fight back, well … that wasn’t on them. 

 

“So you're aware, I'm on record as stating that I should not be here.” Eugene broke the silence after him and Zach watched as Tara got rid of the one lone walker they had encountered. 

  
“It was noted on record, buddy,” Zach said sarcastically as he patted Eugene on the back while moving forward. 

 

“You well know that I'm not combat ready or even for that matter combat inclined.”

 

Zach and Tara shared a look, as Tara glanced back to their weird companion. “You never know, until you are. But you have to start pulling your weight, buddy.” Zach scoffed at the sarcastic repetition of the word. “Even Mika who’s not only smaller, younger and weaker, already does more than you … I think only baby Judith is more useless.”

 

“My abilities are more of the intellectual inclination. Brain over brawn type of thing. And all things being equal, I do believe my weight's been pulled. I got you all to DC, which, in this man's opinion, is damn near nirvana by current standards.” 

 

Tara and Zach looked at each other with equal faces of disbelief. 

 

“How dare you?” Zach whispered, rifle now hanging from his neck as his hands moved to grab onto the lapels of Eugene shirt. “In what universe do you think it was you who brought us here? We lost people! People got hurt because of your stupidity!” 

 

He hadn’t realized he had raised his voice until he heard Tara trying to shush him as she pulled his hands from Eugene’s shirt. The other man was cringing away from him, as if he was expecting a beat down. It just made Zach pity him. Maybe it was that his brain was indeed wired differently that he just couldn’t understand the error of his ways, maybe it was that he didn’t want to accept how weak he was in the great scheme of things … he didn’t care either way. 

 

Zach took a deep breath, taking his rifle back into his hands as he started walking forward. He could hear Tara and Eugene still yapping behind him, but he couldn’t care less. Daryl had said once that they couldn’t change the past, so there was no use in being angry about it. Maybe if Eugene hadn’t come up with the idea of DC it would have meant they would have gotten to Beth a lot sooner, but it might also mean Glenn and Maggie would have died way before reaching Terminus. 

 

There were too many variables, too many  _ what ifs _ . They had to live in the present, fuck what had happened in the past. What mattered was today, and only today. 

 

He just hoped Eugene wasn’t what got him killed today. 

 

There was a certain feeling of relief once the group was back together. Having both Noah - even with their previous shaky history - and mostly Glenn watching their backs meant they had a better chance of going back home. They had to get back home. 

 

“How are we doing this?” Zach asked, his voice low as he saw Aiden and Nicholas start to make their way back to them. “Please don’t make us follow douchebag's commands.”

 

Glenn smiled, shaking his head. “We’re going to make him think he’s running the show, the moment we see this shit going sideways we take over. We trust what we’ve learned so far … and most of all we keep each other safe.”

 

The three of them - minus Eugene who was looking more frightened with every moment which passed - nodded, silently following Glenn’s lead once Aiden arrived back to them. They were the majority, they had more experience surviving out there. They had this. 

 

Eugene was pushed into the middle of the group, with Aiden and Glenn leading and Tara with Zach bringing in the rear. Zach was grateful for every single lesson Daryl had given him as he moved silently behind the rest of the group. How to be observant, how to prepare for whatever could happen … how to stay alive. 

 

“Tara?” Glenn whispered as he used his flashlight to point to a corridor. 

 

“We got this,” Tara answered, motioning to Zach for them to split from the main group. 

 

Goosebumps appeared on his arms as they made their way silently down the hallway, Tara on point  and him bringing up the rear. Eugene still looked like he was about to pass out on them at any minute . It was silent … too silent for his taste. No vermin running around the place, and to their experience that usually didn’t mean anything good. 

 

Then, just as Zach signaled Tara to stop - and as soon as they heard Glenn’s group stop a couple of corridors down from them - he heard them. 

 

“Do you hear something?” Tara asked, getting shushed by Zach as he moved his head just as Daryl had taught him. He had ears for a reason, his adoptive father had said, and he better learn to use them. He was using them now, and what he heard … was nothing good .

 

“They’re stuck behind something.” They heard Glenn’s whisper across the aisle, and Zach’s heart skipped a beat. 

 

Silently they made their way towards Glenn and the rest of the group, just in time to hear Aiden ask Glenn. “How do you know?”

 

“Do you see any of them chomping on you?” Zach snarked as they reached Glenn. “What’s the plan?”

 

“Let’s go,” Glenn shook his head as he pushed forward, Zach falling into place at his side as the rest followed them. “Your mother is going to kill me if something happens to you.”

 

“Ditto.” Zach murmured back. They continued their way further into the warehouse, jumping, startled as one of the walkers slammed against the wire fence that once upon a time possibly separated the front and back of the place. 

 

“There could be more,” Glenn said, shining his light back on the rest of the group. “Let’s get to work.”

 

“You’re up,” Tara murmured to Eugene, dragging him away to find the reason why they were there in the first place.

 

“Should we get rid of a few? Through the fence like at the prison?” Zach could feel Aiden’s eyes on him, and he tried not to let that cause him any anxiety. He didn’t like the other guy at all, but he seemed to be allowing Glenn to lead for once. 

 

“It’ll hold,” Glenn said, looking at the fence before looking back at Zach. “Let’s help Tara, let’s make sure Eugene gets what he needs.”

 

Zach gave Glenn a last look before trotting down behind the other two. He was still on his way when he heard Glenn call out to Aiden to stop shooting. The next thing he knew he was getting up after being thrown across the aisle he had been working on, ears ringing. He couldn’t hear anything for a few seconds as he blinked in confusion, dust flying everywhere and pain starting to register in his mind. 

 

Something was hurting really bad, but it wasn’t until he shook his head and tried to get up, that he realized where the pain was coming from. He had been thrown right into a pile of framing rods, and one of them had gone through the palm of his hand. 

 

Everything came to him at once. The moaning of the walkers, his groan of pain, Glenn calling out his name. 

 

“I’m here!” Zach called out, grunting as he touched the edge of the rod hissing in pain. “Here!” He raised his good hand as he saw the lights from Glenn and Noah point towards him. The sound of the walkers were getting closer and closer, it took no genius to understand they had gotten free.

 

“Are you good?” Glenn asked, boxes keeping him from being able to reach him properly. 

 

“Kind of,” Zach muttered as he tried to grab onto the rod and pull it up with him. The thing was about ten feet long and about six inches had gone through his hand. He knew what he had to do. “My mom’s going to kill me.”

 

Glenn just pushed Noah up the boxes as he moved on to find Eugene and Tara. Zach could hear that he had found them, but he was at the moment more worried he would have to pull the rod back out than anything else. 

 

“What do I do?” Noah asked as he hovered over where Zach was trying to psych himself up to do what he had to do. 

 

“Just keep that thing stable,” Zach murmured as he put his flashlight down, taking the strap of his rifle into his mouth and biting into it. “If I pass out, just wrap my hand in something and don’t let me bleed out.”  

 

“I won’t,” Noah said, grabbing the rod with both hands, the color leeching out of his face just as Zach started to grunt into the strap. He could feel his vision failing him as inch by inch the rod started to come out the way it had gotten in. Zach wasn’t sure if it was because of the pain or because he hadn’t been breathing as he’d freed himself from what could have been his very own death trap. 

 

Zach was sure he had momentarily passed out, since when he came back to his own, he was sitting down and Noah was quickly wrapping his now blood soaked hand in a piece of his own shirt. 

 

“Noah! Zach!” They could hear Glenn calling them over. “They’re getting closer! Tara’s hurt bad!” 

 

“Coming!” Noah answered, pulling Zach up with an arm around his waist and dragging him over the heap of boxes.  His friend was pale and soaked in his own sweat, and Noah just prayed he wouldn’t have to face the boy’s family without some backup. “Come on, come on, come on.”

 

It took Zach a couple of steps to regain his balance, pushing Noah ahead as they heard Glenn call for Eugene to stand up and kill what was coming for them. They shared a look of panic, knowing the older man was absolutely useless and if they didn’t do something it could lead to Tara’s demise. 

 

They both rounded out the corner just in time for Noah to kill the second walker that had been making its way towards their friends. 

 

“You okay?”Glenn asked, looking at the bloodied rag covering his hand. 

 

“I’ll live.” 

 

“You go to that office, I’ll bring Tara to you.” Without saying anything, Noah moved to lead them towards the office, while Zach brought up the rear. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins, and he could barely feel the pain in his hand anymore as he brought up his rifle and shot a walker straight through the head. 

 

They were going to have to fight their way out of this, and if a bolt through his side hadn’t kept Daryl from getting back to Carol … a rod through the hand should be a piece of cake. 

 

-.-.-

 

A tentative knock on their front door made Carol stop what she was doing - cooking dinner - to listen. She was not expecting any company, since Connor had let her know  about Mika’s detention when she had dropped by during his lunch break. And although friendly with the ‘neighbors’, she wasn’t on friendly enough terms for them to drop by unannounced. 

 

But there was that soft knock once again, she hadn't imagined it. “Coming,” she called as she grabbed one of the kitchen knives, hiding it up her sleeve as she made her way to the front door. It wasn’t as though she was expecting to be attacked, and she also had the gun tucked into the back of her pants, but it was better to be safe than sorry.  

 

Carol was definitely not expecting the visitor standing on her porch, a big smile on his face. “Hi, Mrs. Carol!”

 

“Sam!” A smile appeared on Carol’s face as the knife disappeared back up her sleeve. “Mika is not back from school yet.”

 

“I know,” Sam said, a forlorn look on his face. 

 

His face said everything. He was somehow involved with what had happened with Mika; but Connor had already explained it wasn’t something important other than he needed to pretend to have control over his class. “What are you doing here, then?”

 

“I was wondering if you still have some of those cookies we baked the other day?” 

 

His face was so filled with hope that Carol could´t help but soften towards the boy. He was polite and so innocent that she couldn’t help but be reminded of Sophia every time she looked at him; and even though it sent a pang through her heart, she liked to be reminded of her daughter. The last thing she wanted to do was forget her. “I don’t, Daryl took the last of them with him this morning.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“But …” Carol said as she put a hand on Sam’s shoulder, “if you can somehow get us some more chocolate … I could bake them for you.” She wasn’t outright going to tell him to steal some, but just gently put the idea in his head. 

 

The blinding smile on his face made her chest hurt. He reminded her of Daryl in that moment, the look of happiness at having someone pay paid attention to him was heartbreaking in a way. As she watched him run from the house and towards the pantry, Carol promised herself she was going to have a talk with his mother. 

 

One former abused housewife to another. 

 

-.-.-.

 

The moment Glenn laid Tara on the desk, Zach knew it was bad. She was unconscious and bleeding badly, the scent of their blood calling the walkers to them. 

 

“How’s she doing?” Glenn asked as Zach moved to Nicholas’ side, having gotten his handgun out since his rifle was useless with only one good hand. 

 

“She has a serious head trauma; she’s losing blood fast!” Zach looked over his shoulder, feeling a shiver run through his body as he noticed the small pool of blood under his friend’s head. 

 

“How do we stop it?”

 

“The medkit was in Aiden’s bag, it got blown to hell.” Nicholas added, looking crazily from the window where they could see the walkers banging on the glass, and then back to Glenn and Tara.

 

“There’s another one in the van!” Glenn barked back, not willing to give up on one of theirs. 

 

“She’s on her way out.” Eugene finally looked up to Glenn, fear clear in his eyes. “We need to get her there.”

 

That was something they could do. It was a set goal, and they were great with those. 

 

“We’ll get her there,” Glenn said softly as they all started to approach the desk. 

 

“Help! Please help!” 

 

“For fucks sake, he’s alive!” Zach said in dismay at the same time Nicholas exclaimed as well. They couldn’t leave him there to be devoured by walkers. If he was alive that meant there was a chance … and if not, the least they could do was to give him a merciful death. 

 

“He’s alive?” 

 

“I … I checked him!” Nicholas said, his eyes moving from the window back to Glenn. “I thought he was - “

 

“You thought wrong, asshole.” Zach interrupted him, closing his eyes for a moment while taking a deep breath before opening and setting his sights on Glenn. 

 

“How do we do this?” There was an unspoken agreement between the three of them - Glenn, Noah, and Zach - as Nicholas continued muttering behind them about how he had been sure about Aiden’s death. 

 

“It’s going to take at least three of us,” Glenn said, his head already planning ahead. 

 

“Does she have the time?” Noah asked Eugene as Zach started to check his handgun to see how many shots he had left. 

 

“We pull him off that, it’s going to kill him.” 

 

Nicholas yelped when he suddenly found himself slammed against the side of the office, the walkers outside, their groanings becoming louder as something made a loud noise as it fell to the floor. “We do not leave anyone behind, no one!” Zach sneered into the older man’s face.

 

“Go! Save him!” Eugene cried out behind them, making Zach release Nicholas with a grunt as he moved back towards his family. “That’s what she would have wanted. I’ll stay with her, I’ll keep her safe. I assure you! I will!”

 

Glenn looked first at Noah, and then at Zach, weighing his options. 

 

“Zach - “

 

“Even with one hand I’m a better shot than these two combined.”

 

“Alright, we’re doing this.” Glenn moved towards the door. “You still have that flare gun?” He asked Nicholas as he got his knife out. Noah and Zach followed his example. “You’re going to shoot it over those shelves, we’re going to combat the rest hand to hand.”

 

They prepared by the door, Noah and Zach sharing a look before Glenn threw his weight against the door. It opened with a bang, Nicholas running out first and shooting the flare before the rest of them made a dash towards Aiden. 

 

They could still hear the walkers groaning right behind them. 

 

-.-.-..

 

Murphy hated the fucking sun. He was an irishman for God’s sake, his skin had not been made to withstand the harsh sun of the south; it had been worse at the prison, and Daryl had gotten a kick out of it whenever they got so burnt they looked red as boiled crawfish. 

 

The thought of his brother made Murphy cringe as he threw the metal sheet onto the back of the truck. He had been childish in avoiding his brother, he knew it then and he knew it now. Carol was extremely mad at him, and Connor had made his side on the argument clear. He was just terrified of something happening to Declan out there without any of them to watch his back. 

 

He sighed as he went back to get another sheet and continue his work. Working on the construction crew wasn’t bad, he would have rather preferred being a teacher like Connor, but they’d had physically demanding work before in their lives, so he wasn’t afraid of breaking his back. He also had concluded that in a few months time, the changes because of all the weight he was lifting was going to be obvious, and unless Connor actually kept up with the regime he had followed back at the prison … he was going to blow their wife’s mind away. He would just have to get Daryl to stop using his bow as much so his arms would become smaller somehow… there was no beating Declan’s guns in a fair fight. 

 

The sound of the first shot was what brought Murphy out of his musings.

 

“Didn’t she fucking see them?” Murphy muttered, annoyed as he grabbed one of the rifles another one of the crew members had dropped and immediately started to fire, noticing from the side of his eye as Abraham joined him. “Do these wankers have any idea of how to actually hit a target?” Murphy yelled out to the redhead as the two of them started taking one step a the time towards the advancing herd. 

 

Murphy winced as the woman - Francine - fell from the top of the vehicle, landing hard with the herd almost on top of her. His first instinct was to run towards her, but he knew he was more useful hitting the targets from a distance as someone else went to get her. 

 

“Everybody back! To the safety of the trucks!”

 

“What the fuck?!” Murphy yelled as he continued to shoot while moving closer to where Tobin was. “You’re just going to leave her?”

 

Tobin just shook his head as Murphy saw Abraham run towards the woman, moving to cover his friend instead of arguing with that pussy. 

 

It didn’t take long, as Murphy saw Abraham push Francine into the cab of the vehicle, for his rifle to run out of bullets. 

 

“Mary mother of God, please protect me from this because otherwise Carol is going to kill me,” Murphy muttered to himself as he pulled his trusted berettas from his harness and started shooting as he walked towards where Abraham was doing his part. 

 

Murphy couldn’t help but smirk as his guns ran out of bullets and he joined Abraham’s side, dispatching the walkers back to back. Abraham had somehow acquired some kind of hammer while he used his trusted knife. 

 

One by one the walkers fell, between Francine’s shooting, Abraham squashing their heads - with ‘mother dick’ being Abraham’s favorite killing phrase - his knife and the eventual help of the rest of the crew.

 

Abraham was fuming as they helped Francine down. Murphy couldn’t help but to be thrilled at the possible fight which was going to break. He owed Tobin owed a beating for trying to flirt with his wife anyway.   

 

-.-.-.

 

Zach was at the rear of the group, making sure the way had been cleared for Eugene and at the same time assuring it would not close down on them. Noah was a few paces in front of him, both knowing it was going to be up to them to keep Glenn and Nicholas safe as they did the retrieval. 

 

Aiden might be a little cock sucker, but he was part of the community and they refused to leave people behind. 

 

“Eugene is out,” Zach murmured to Noah as he saw the older man’s mullet disappear  through the door closest to the office. “Now we just need to worry about us.”

 

“That’s what worries me…” 

 

They could hear Glenn saying something to Aiden, but they were more concerned at the moment on the flare starting to burn out than the pained grunts coming from the Alexandrian. 

 

“Use the strap!” Noah barked as they heard Aiden’s yell as they started to try and get him off the poles he had been impaled upon. “We have to hurry! The flare is almost out!”

 

As if he had said the magic words, the sound walkers emitted became louder, drawn by Aiden’s cries and the smell of his blood. 

 

“They’re almost here.” Zach couldn’t do anything but kill the first few walkers that approached him with his knife, he could hear something was going on behind him, but he was busier trying to keep the walkers at bay - having to start shooting at them by then - than trying to keep up with whatever was happening behind them. 

 

“Here!” Noah was slamming something into his chest, a new mag for his handgun which he took, dropping the empty one and locking the new one in place. 

 

“They’re here!”

 

-.-.-.

 

Murphy had never seen someone resemble a bull honed on a matador more in his life, than Abraham stalking towards Tobin in that moment. As Murphy helped Francine walk towards the rest of the group, Abraham rushed ahead and slammed his open hands against Tobin’s chest, making the taller man stumble back into the side of the truck. 

 

“Is this how you do it? You leave people behind to die?” That was something they never did, they could not like each other - Father Gabriel and Eugene - but they were family. And as cheesy as it sounded, family never left anyone behind. 

 

“We have a system!” Murphy stopped behind Abraham, giving Tobin an incredulous look. “Tell him, Francine - ”

 

Murphy burst out laughing as Francine slammed her fist into Tobin’s jaw. “Asshole.”

 

“All that noise is bound to draw more,” the man Murphy had been calling all day Fat Tim in his mind intersected, giving him a look to try and get him to stop laughing. “Maybe we should call it a day and start fresh tomorrow.”

 

“Hell no! Don’t be a pussy... “ Murphy said at the same time Abraham started speaking. 

 

“Screw that. Francine you good?”

 

“We got at least three hours of daylight left,” Francine answered giving Abraham a slight smile. 

 

Murphy wiggled his eyebrows at Tobin as he moved to take the second lookout post as Abraham ordered. Things were starting to get interesting. Maybe they wouldn’t even have to take Alexandria by force … maybe they would give it to them on a silver platter. 

 

-.-.-.

 

“Zach! Let’s go!” The walkers were almost upon them when Glenn yelled for him to move. Zach quickly shot three walkers before turning on his heel and sprinting past the blood soaked poles that had kept Aiden skewered like a fucking kebab. 

 

“Come on!” Glenn called him again, as between him and Noah moved a barely responsive Aiden down a long hallway towards where they knew the exit was. 

 

“Where’s Nicholas?” 

 

Zach looked worried as Aiden scoffed, raising his head with a lot of trouble to look at him. “He bailed on me like we did to the others.” Zach gave Glenn a look, who only shook his head before raising his free arm and shooting a walker appearing from the other side of the corridor. 

 

They reached the revolving doors just as Nicholas ran his way through them. 

 

“I’m out!” Zach yelled just before he suddenly found himself carrying Aiden’s weight as both Glenn and Noah started shooting at the walkers trying to surround them. 

 

“Nicholas!” Glenn yelled as he saw the walkers outside notice the other man, forcing him to back into the revolving door just as Glenn pushed everyone inside of it. 

 

“Shit! Fuck!” Zach grunted as he found himself trying to keep Aiden upright while Glenn banged on one side of the door and Noah looked terrified behind him. 

 

They were stuck. If they went forward there was a group of walkers waiting for them - too many for the three of them to take one on one and make it through; the same thing if they went backwards. Not to take into consideration that Aiden was bleeding through the makeshift bandages the other two had customized for him and his breathing was slowing; and his hand was bleeding like mad. 

 

He had a very bad feeling about this.  

 

-.-.-.

 

Carol had just been ready to join Murphy in his shower when she heard a tentative knock on her front door. She sighed as she looked towards the stairs, she could now hear Murphy singing loudly from the shower, and she was more than tempted to leave the person knocking on the porch while she enjoyed a little afternoon delight. After all, Murphy was still in the dog house and had to make it up to her somehow. 

 

In the end, with a roll of her eyes, Carol made her way to the front door. A grinning Sam with a ziplock bag with two pieces of chocolate was waiting for her as she swung it open. She shook her head as she opened the door for the boy to come through, she had promised after all to make him those cookies if he came through. 

 

Honestly she had expected to take him a while to procure the much sought after chocolate. Sam seemed to remember where everything was, from the last time he’d helped her, and had silently started to measure the ingredients as she turned on the oven. 

 

“You have a very good memory, Sam!” Carol said, smiling as the boy seemed to flourish with her simple words of encouragement.

 

“I used to be the best at spelling in my class,” Sam said as he continued to measure the ingredients one by one, before starting to mix first all the dry ones in a bowl. “You know, before this happened.”

 

Carol smiled at the boy. He was looking for attention, happy with just working in silence with her in the kitchen. She had forgotten how much enjoyment she could find in cooking not for survival, but for pleasure. 

 

“Were you always a good cook?” Sam asked as he looked as she used her hands to mix the dough, dropping the pieces of chocolate whenever she stopped for a moment, just as she had taught him and Mika a few days before. 

 

“No,” Carol chuckled, “not really.” At Sam’s baffled face, she giggled. “When I finished high school, I lived a long time on noodles and instant mac and cheese.”

 

“I like mac and cheese,” Sam said with a sigh. “I miss mac and cheese.”

 

Carol chuckled, moving to wash her hands after she’d finished mixing the dough. 

 

“But when did you become such an amazing cook?” Sam caught the kitchen towel Carol had tossed to him, and immediately started to wipe the counter with it. 

 

“And how do you know I’m an ‘amazing cook’?” 

 

Sam made a face at her question. “Mika might have shared her lunch with me?” 

 

Carol just chuckled fondly as she started to make small balls of dough. “It was more of a necessity.” She knew she was about to step on dangerous ground, but she just needed to be sure. She needed to be sure Sam - and probably Jessie - were being abused before she tried to do anything; and Sam becoming her little friend allowed her an opportunity for that. 

 

“My first husband, before Connor …” She could feel his little eyes on her, but she concentrated on making the balls of dough. “He wasn’t a very good man, he would get mad if I cooked something he didn’t like. So I worked very very hard to be very very good at it.”

 

“And did it work? Did he stop being mad at you?” 

 

There was a lot of pain in that question, and Carol hated Pete even more for it. Her heart was breaking for the little boy using a glass to flatten the dough into a cookie, and she just knew she would have to do something about it. 

 

“He didn’t.” Carol finally looked at Sam, and she knew her eyes were probably filled with tears. “He just found another reason to be mad at me.”

 

Sam nodded, his head dropping as he went back to work. Carol had to grab a towel to dry her cheeks before she was able to continue working on the cookies. 

 

“But you know what helped?” Carol asked a few minutes later, once she had been able to control her own feelings. Sam just shrugged dejectedly. “To tell someone, to allow someone else to help me.” She wished that had been true, she wished it hadn’t taken until the world ended and luck was on her side for her to get rid of the asshole that had been her first husband. 

 

“Carol …” Sam looked up at her, his little face set. “I think my mom needs some help.” 

 

-.-.-.-

 

There was not enough space for four men to stand comfortably inside the space between one door and another in a revolving door. To be honest, Zach didn’t even know how they had made it in. 

 

They had run out of ammo just as the walkers were upon them. Meanwhile Nicholas - who had run outside through the door - had found himself surrounded by walkers and had retreated back inside the door. At the same time they’d gone in. 

 

They were basically fucked. 

 

“My mom is going to kill me,” Zach muttered as he stood still with Aiden clasped in his arms while Glenn looked around in panic. They were surrounded, with no ammo and just enough walkers to make a good meal out of them. 

 

“Mine too,” Aiden mumbled, his head hanging as some blood spilled from his mouth. He was bleeding out, and if they didn’t do something soon they were going to find themselves with a walker inside the door with them. 

 

“Maybe we can shoot our  way past them, you still have guns!” Nicholas yelled at them over the sound of the walkers moaning. 

 

“And you have the ammo, dipshit!” Glenn yelled back, pushing his back against the door to keep it from turning as the walkers pushed against it. 

 

“There must be some kind of way!” 

 

Zach heaved Aiden higher, as he felt the man start to slip down his grasp. Noah kept on muttering behind him while Glenn tried to look for some kind of way out of the mess they had found themselves in.

 

The sound of the van’s horn was like the angelic chorus from heaven itself to Zach’s ears. There was joy in their faces as they watched the walkers outside start following Eugene away from them. 

 

Now, it was only the inside walkers that were trying to kill them. 

 

“Alright,” Glenn said after the last few walkers walked away from them. “I need you two … Hey! Nicholas!” He called out to make sure he had the other man’s attention. “I need you two to keep the door steady, I’m going to try and break the glass.”

 

Nicholas looked fearful as Glenn took a deep breath. “We get out, you push. We go for the rifle and we’re all good. Alright? Alright?” Zach could see from the side of his eye as Nicholas gave a shaky nod. “Ready?”

 

They all cringed when the first hit did nothing on the glass of the door. The second one had the same effect as the first. Or at least they had thought so until Nicholas started yelling at them to stop. 

 

The door had opened just a smidgen on his side and he had started to panic. And nothing good ever came out from someone panicking during a dire situation; they had all learned the lesson the hard way. 

 

“This is the only way,” Glenn tried to explain as calmly as he was able to. 

 

But Nicholas was in no headspace to hear reason. “No! It’s not going to break.”

 

“It will!” Noah said as he moved to meet Nicholas’ eyes over Zach’s shoulder. “It will, and we can hold it. Together.”

 

Zach closed his eyes for a moment, trying to center himself as Glenn told them they were doing it at the count of three. 

 

They didn’t make it to three. Just after two Nicholas threw all his body weight against the door pushing it open just enough for a few walkers to start pushing their hands inside. Their fingers were almost touching Noah and Zach could feel Aiden, even in his weakened state, try to get further away from the danger. 

 

The problem was there was no more space. As Noah tried to both hold the door and push the walkers away, Glenn continued to push against the weight that Nicholas was throwing against the door. 

 

It was too many of them in the same place, they weren’t able to have enough space to position themselves to hold the door down. With a last push Nicholas broke free and the first walker took a grab of Noah’s boot. 

 

Nothing good ever came out of someone panicking during a dire situation. 

 

-.-.-.-.

 

She had known from the beginning that it would have been a lot harder to convince Connor that everything was alright, than it would be to convince Murphy. Her goofy middle triplet had been easily distracted with the promise of her sexual favors if he helped with dinner and looked after Sam for a little while. 

 

Carol was not allowing Sam to spend one more night under the same roof as his father. They could scream kidnapping for all they cared, but he was just not leaving her sights anytime soon. At least not until the situation with Pete had been resolved. 

 

It hadn’t taken her long to get the full story out of the sweet boy. Pete was abusive to his wife and eldest son, but she just knew it would be just a matter of time before he started on Sam. And she was not going to allow it. No one would touch Sam in a violent way as long as she lived. 

 

“Hey!” She was so mad she had missed Connor and Mika waving at her on the corner. She tried to muster a smile but just as she knew it would happen, Connor took one look at her and knew something was wrong. 

 

“Mika, sweetheart,” Connor said softly as he crouched to look their daughter in the eyes. “Would you mind running ahead, I need to talk to your mother for a few minutes.”

 

Mika gave them both a look, knowing there was something going on, but just after a quick hug to Carol, she did as Connor had asked. 

 

Conor waited until he was sure Mika was out of hearing range - having been told what had happened with the whole eavesdropping on their gun acquirement operation - before he gave Carol a long look. 

 

She knew what he wanted, and she wasn’t sure she would be able to deliver. She was just so angry, so heartbroken. She wanted to kill Pete, and she knew that if she told Connor he would help her hide the body. No questions asked. 

 

“Love,” Connor said, approaching her slowly. 

 

Carol couldn’t help it as she felt emotion overcome her, Connor’s arms pulling her close as she pushed her face into the crook of his neck. She wasn’t crying, but she was shaking badly, Connor’s hands running up and down her back as he whispered sweet nothings in her ear. 

 

It took her a couple of minutes to get herself together. Minutes they just spent holding each other in the middle of the street. Connor had glared at more than one Alexandrian who had tried to approach them during that time; it was a subtle proof Carol had been able to accomplish what she had sought to do in the beginning ... to become a part of the community. 

 

“Are you ready to tell me what’s going on?” Connor asked softly as he felt her start to pull away. Her breathing was back to normal, and although her eyes were shiny with tears, her cheeks were dry. 

 

“I need you to come with me, just as backup. I need you to stay calm and to not do anything harsh.”

 

“It’s like you don’t even know me.”

 

“Connor!” He snapped to attention at her calling out his name in that tone of voice. She was being serious, she was completely and utterly serious. 

 

“I will, my love,” Connor murmured as he took her hand, bringing it up to his lips and kissing her fingers. “But I will need you to tell me what’s going on, the whole story.”

 

“I will afterwards, just …” Carol gave him a sad smile as she started to pull him along. “Just come with me?”

 

“To the ends of the world.”

 

-.-.-.

 

Zach was seething. He was running down the empty parking lot and he was sure he had never been this mad in his life. He could hear Glenn grunting as the weight of Aiden became too much for him to bear on his own, but Zach couldn’t help him. 

 

He was on the hunt. Their van came into view as soon as they cut the corner, but not only their van came into a view. Nicholas had just managed to gain less than a couple of minutes on them. Zach broke into a run, leaving the others behind.  

 

There were still two shots in his rifle. The rifle he had not used because he couldn’t hold it with his injured hand. 

 

They had always said adrenaline caused your injuries not to hurt, and he was surprised to see they were right. 

 

Zach watched as Eugene tried to stand his ground, still too far away to help him, and then he saw as Nicholas disarmed him and pushed him to the ground. 

 

The son of a bitch wasn’t happy with having left them to die back there, he was now trying to take their only mode of transportation. He was leaving them to die. 

 

Zach hadn’t been joking when he said he was a better shot than all of them combined. 

 

Eugene whimpered when Nicholas’ body hit the ground. 

 

“Holy shit!” Noah exclaimed as they finally arrived at the van, helping Eugene up as Glenn just jumped over the dead body towards the back. 

 

“We have to go.” Eugene was still looking shocked at the dead body at his feet. “Eugene, now!” Glenn barked as he pushed Zach to the back, closing the door behind him. 

 

There was no time to lose as Glenn started ordering them to give him the first aid kit as they tried to keep Aiden alive long enough for him to reach Alexandria. They were probably going to have to talk about what happened later. But for the time being, Zach didn’t regret it. The man had been a menace to their family, almost getting Noah killed, and trying to leave them behind to die. He hadn’t deserved to come back, and he knew Glenn would never be able to do it. So he had done it. 

 

He was a MacDixon, and MacDixons did whatever was necessary to protect their family.  

 

-.-.-.-

 

She could feel Connor’s eyes on her as she climbed up the stairs which led to Sam’s house. She had said nothing to Connor, other than to stay back and let her do the talking. She knew the moment she’d told them what was going on, they were going to be all hands on deck. But she needed to try and minimize the damages before they happened. 

 

If Jesse decided to leave Pete on her own, the other man wouldn’t have any claim over her. They could protect her and her kids, she was sure of it. 

 

Carol just needed to talk to her, alone. 

 

But it wasn’t Jessie who opened the door after she knocked; it was Pete. She felt herself tense up, but forced herself to calm down at once. Connor would attack at the first sign of discomfort coming from her … and that wasn’t the plan. 

 

“Hey, Carol,” Pete said as he opened the door just enough to be able to look at her. “Everything alright? Is your hand bothering you in any way?” 

 

Pete had taken her cast off two days before, deeming her fracture healed enough for her to start using it again. Carol clenched her fist, feeling the slight pang of pain and using it as a reminder of why she was there in the first place. 

 

“Oh, no, everything is alright.” Her fake smile was in place, and she tried to peek over his shoulder without being too obvious. “I was just looking for Jessie? I wanted to ask her something about the best way to cut my husband’s hair?”

 

“She’s not feeling well right now,” Pete said as he moved to block her view of their house, taking a step forward, trying to use his side to intimidate her. “I’ll tell her you came by.”

 

“Oh, please do.” Carol gave him another bright smile before turning on her heel and walking away from him. She could feel his eyes on her back and she tried not to shudder at the feeling. 

 

Connor raised his hand saying goodbye to the man still watching from his doorway as he opened his other one to pull Carol close as soon as she was within reach. 

 

“Are we going to kill the son of a bitch?” Connor muttered as they started to make their way back to their home. 

 

Her answer was interrupted by the frightening sound of someone asking for help from the gates. 

 

Their eyes met just before they began to run. 

 

Zach had been on that run. 

 

-.-.-.-

 

It took them a long time to calm down. 

 

They had all been half hysterical as both Aiden and Tara were taken into the infirmary. Both were still alive, but barely. Pete had started yelling as if he was in an O.R and Rosita had stood up to the challenge and helped him. 

 

Zach, Noah, Eugene, and Glenn had stayed outside of the infirmary, and that meant Carol and Maggie hadn’t left their sides. Connor had been the one to notice Zach’s injury, and the boy had barely reacted as Carol cleaned it with peroxide and sutured him as best as she could while being outside. 

 

And yet, they couldn’t move. 

 

Deanna, Reg, and Spencer had all donated blood for Aiden. Blood that had only been able to give them a little more time with him. Aiden might have missed major blood vessels, by the placement of the impalement, but it hadn’t missed major organs. 

 

Aiden was dying. 

 

Meanwhile, after Pete had been able to do the best he could for Aiden, Tara was deemed as unknown. Her vital signs were stable, but without the proper equipment they had no idea what was going on inside that hard head of hers. At the least, she had a concussion, but Pete was truly in the unknown over what he was able to do to help in her case. 

 

“Come on, kid,” Carol whispered as she dropped a kiss on Zach’s head where he was resting it against her chest. “There’s nothing else you can do here, let’s get you to bed.”

 

Reluctantly, after being told to go home by the fifth time by Rosita,one by one they started to stand ready to leave. The door opening once again made them all stop. 

 

Deanna stood in the porch light, pale and appearing older they had ever seen her look. 

 

“Thank you,” Deanna said as she gave them a pained smile. “Thank you for bringing my boy home.”

 

Zach fell asleep wrapped around Carol after he’d run out of tears. He knew he would have to tell them what he had done, but there would be time for that later. Right now he needed his mother’s comfort. 


	12. Try

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY!!! Another chapter in time! And I'm already working on the last one! YAY!
> 
> Thanks for reading and if you like, please leave a comment... I thrive on them. 
> 
> I've been working with going back to a set schedule to battle against my ADD, and apparently it's been working... so as I said before, I'm working on the last chapter as you read and hopefully it'll be good to go for next Tuesday. Before the 1 year anniversary of the start of the season 5 adventure. 
> 
> Cheers.

**Chapter XI**

**Try**

 

Aiden had lasted eighteen hours. Carol stood with her hand in Zach’s as they all accompanied Deanna and her family as they lowered Aiden to the ground. What would she do if she only had eighteen hours left with any of her kids? What would she do if she knew she only had a certain amount of time with her boys? 

 

She never wanted to know the answer to those questions. 

 

It had seemed like what happened out there during the run had made everything freeze in time inside Alexandria. No one was worried about anything else for the next twenty four hours other than how Tara was doing, and when they were going to lay Aiden to rest. 

 

Close to the end, after Spencer had been stopped when he had tried to find Glenn - holding him accountable for what had happened - Aiden asked to speak with his mother alone. And with short rasping breaths he had told her everything that had happened. He had confessed something Deanna had had her own suspicions about - the previous runs when they had lost people - he had explained how it had been his own fault that he’d found himself impaled. 

 

How it was because of Glenn and the others, he had the opportunity to say goodbye. Deanna hadn’t asked him a lot of questions, prefering to fill the gaps once her son was finally resting instead of using his strength for inconsequential things in the grand scale of things.  

 

They had all been waiting for the other shoe to drop, since Maggie had taken the time - before the service - to let them know what she had heard Gabriel saying to Deanna just before all hell had broken loose. It was just the calm of a few - Glenn, Carol, Michonne - which was barely able to diffuse the bomb of anger they had all become. They would wait for Deanna to say something; they would wait to see what happened. Either way they were armed and ready for anything. 

 

“That fucking blows,” Murphy muttered as soon as they entered their home, getting rid of the tie Carol had made him wear. “I hate losing people, even if they’re assholes.”

 

Connor watched as Mika and Sam immediately ran upstairs to what had become their bedroom. True to her word, Carol had somehow worked her magic on Jessie and the boy had been staying with them for the past couple of nights. 

 

He still needed to find out what  _ that  _ was about. 

 

“I’m so done with all this shit,” Murphy continued to whine as he started the kettle, not even asking if they wanted some tea as well. “All the dying and bullshit, just done.”

 

Connor noticed how even as they moved to the kitchen, with Carol sitting on one of the stools at the island, Zach kept himself in the dark, lost in thought. 

 

“You alright, lad?” Connor asked, keeping his eyes on Zach even as he could feel Murphy and Carol’s attention on them at his words. 

 

“I … I…” Zach stopped and took a deep breath before finally meeting Connor’s eyes. “I killed Nicholas.”

 

His confession was met with deadly silence. 

 

“He was going to leave us there!” Zach hurried to add, taking a step closer to Carol. “He was willing to leave Aiden behind and we almost lost Noah because of him!”

 

“Zach,” Carol said softly as she took his hand in hers. Zach hadn’t even noticed he had started to hyperventilate as he tried to explain what exactly had happened to them. “Calm down, honey. It’s alright.”

 

It wasn’t like he had never killed a person before. He had killed Dawn after what happened to Beth… but then it had been like a reflex; he hadn’t even thought about it. With Nicholas it was different, he had chased him, he had prepared the shot … he hadn’t missed. 

 

“I was just so mad,” Zach said as he tried to keep his tears at bay. “I was mad he had almost cost us Noah … that he almost made me break my promise to come back to you, Mom.”

 

“Oh, Zach.” He didn’t need to hold onto his tears anymore, as soon as Carol wrapped him in his arms he allowed himself to cry his guilt out against the warmth of her shoulder. 

 

“Look at me, lad,” Connor ordered him after a few minutes, his hand on the back of Zach’s neck, forcing the boy to meet his eyes. “You did nothing wrong, do you hear me?!” Zach sighed, wiping his tears with one hand while he kept his other arm tight around his mother. “If you hadn’t killed him, I would have as soon as you told us what happened. Alright?”

 

Zach nodded, letting Connor pull him from his mother’s arms to give him a hug. 

 

“Now go and take a shower, you’re starting to smell like Daryl.”

 

“And we all know that’s never a good thing.” Murphy’s words made Zach chuckle, as he walked tiredly up the stairs to follow the instructions he had been given. His soul lighter just by telling someone what had happened. 

 

“Have I mentioned lately how much I hate all this?” Murphy sighed as he rested his hands against the island across from Carol. “This is so fucked up.”

 

“He made the right call,” Connor said as he moved around to prepare the tea Murphy had apparently forgotten all about. “That asshole would have gotten one of them killed sooner than later … or all of them.”

 

“I still hate that he had to do it,” Carol mumbled, closing her eyes as Murphy reached to entwine their fingers. “I hate it so much.”

 

“He’s not a little kid anymore, love,” Connor murmured against Carol’s forehead as he dropped a kiss on it before moving to sit beside her. “He hasn’t been in a while.”

 

“I know.” Carol rested her head against Connor’s shoulder as she watched him play with the tea bag in his cup. “I still hate it.”

 

“I guess this is what being a parent means,” Murphy muttered as he took a sip from his own cup. “Never thought I would- ”

 

“Be a fucking parent to someone?” Connor finished his brother’s sentence pulling Carol closer. “Me neither.”

 

“And you are doing a great job at it,” Carol interrupted before the two started going down a dark path. “Believe me, I know what a shitty parent is … and neither of you are even close .”

 

Both men remained silent, knowing there was nothing they could say to rebuke her. Their wife had known first hand what bad parenting looked like, both as a mother of a child and as a child herself.

 

“Speaking of someone who doesn’t deserve to ever procreate …” Carol tried not to fidget when she suddenly felt their eyes on her. “We have a problem.”

 

-.-.-.

 

Daryl was hungry, tired, and definitely grumpier than usual. It was his second night away from home and he couldn't help but miss them all the way to the deepest parts of himself. He wondered how he had even lived most of his life without his brothers - and Carol - at his side when even forty eight hours felt like torture. 

 

Sure, they had seen traces of other people outside, but as he sat on the cold ground breaking apart long twigs of grass, all Daryl could think about was home. 

 

The mere idea of having an actual home to go back to wasn’t as crazy as it used to be. But it still made his heart soar whenever the blue eyes of his lovely wife made an appearance in his mind. He was a goner; there was no doubt about it. 

 

Aaron’s light snoring did nothing to keep Daryl away from his thoughts, as he listened to the far away groaning of walkers and the silence of the forest. 

 

Each minute which passed was a minute closer to when he could go back to his family. Another moment closer to being back within their midst. 

 

And he could barely wait any longer.

 

-.-.-.-.

 

The sound of pots banging in the kitchen woke Connor. He wasn’t sure he had even heard right until the sound of light cursing reached his ears. The house was eerily quiet as he tiptoed his way downstairs wearing only his sleep pants, knowing already who was he going to find there. 

 

He had woken up alone with Murphy in bed after all. 

 

“You should be sleeping, love.” Connor tried not to smile when Carol jumped startled before turning to glare at him. “I’m just saying, it’s too bloody early for you to be up.” He approached her slowly, waiting for her to put whatever she was cooking inside the oven before pulling her into his arms; her back against his naked chest. “What are you doing that’s so important it’s keeping you away from our bed?”

 

He loved how she seemed to melt into their arms, as if with only them she was able to let go of all her worries and feel safe, comforted,  _ loved _ . 

 

“I just had to do something for them.” Connor nodded, knowing without her saying she meant for the Monroes. “I couldn’t sleep, anyway. I just kept- “

 

Connor didn’t push her to talk more, he could fill in the blanks. She had lost two kids already, so she knew what Deanna and Reg were feeling right now. The emptiness he could imagine they felt they were being sucked into weighed heavily upon him. 

 

“Back when I lost Sophia,” Carol whispered as she rested her forehead against Connor’s jaw, “I only truly had Daryl as a companion for my pain, and even back then he was already saving me.”

 

He sighed, their fingers entwining over where he was resting them over her stomach. “I just keep thinking, I can’t lose any more kids, Con. I just can’t.” Without waiting for her to say anything else, Connor turned her around letting her cry into his chest. Every one of her sobs felt like a stab wound to his heart, every one of her tears felt like a piece of his soul was being torn and sent to hell. 

 

“Nothing will happen to them,” Connor whispered to her ear as he hugged her close. “I won’t let anything happen to them, you hear me?”

 

Her small voice broke his heart. “You said you would never lie to me, Cookie.” 

 

“I’m not lying, I’m promising you … as long as I draw breath on this earth there are two things that are going to happen.” He moved her back so he was resting his forehead against hers. “First, I will do everything within my power to come back to you, and second, those kids will outlive us … so help me God!”

 

The final part of the phrase made Carol break into a blubbering mess of giggles, sighing as Connor pulled her closer once again. 

 

“And we’re going to talk to Jessie, and we’re going to convince her that we’re strong enough to protect her from that jackass.”

 

“There’s no way Deanna will do anything against Pete after what happened today … I know as a mother, I would have killed to have even a minute more with my baby girl.” Connor kissed the top of her head as he swayed softly from side to side, the sun barely piercing the darkness outside. 

 

“We’ll find a way, love,” Connor murmured as he took comfort in the feeling of his wife in his arms. “We’ll find a way.”

 

The early rays of the sun found Carol and Connor walking together towards the Monroe residence. Carol’s late night - or early morning - casserole in Connor’s hands as she rested her head against his arm. He had been the one to convince her to deliver it in person. He had come downstairs from his shower as she was trying to find the words to express her condolences in writing. 

 

And her sweet asshole of a husband had convinced her to talk to Deanna not like the person she pretended to be within the walls, but as the person who had learned to deal with the immense grief of losing a daughter.

 

It was why they were now waiting for someone to answer the door after he had rung the bell. It was early, but not too early for post apocalyptic standards.   

 

Deanna opened the door, looking impeccable as always. She smiled at them and welcomed them in. 

 

-.-.-.

 

“Hey, Kid.” 

 

The silence which greeted Murphy as he rested his shoulder against the open doorway of Zach and Carl’s room broke his heart a little. He knew Zach had heard him, knew he was awake; he was just choosing not to respond to him, instead staring out into the void. 

 

“You need to get out of bed,” Murphy murmured as sat on the foot of the bed, pushing Zach’s feet away. “Carol left you some breakfast before leaving with Connor for some bullshit.” The silence was starting to get on Murphy’s nerves … he regretted even more having been so juvenile with Daryl when he had left a few days before. He had to apologize as soon as his brother came back home. 

 

“It’s not the first time you’ve killed somebody,” Murphy stated after a few more minutes of complete silence. “It’s not like you have innocent blood on your hands, you know?”

 

Murphy sighed, wanting to shake the silent boy in the bed like he was a rag doll until he was able to snap out of his mood. But he knew it was not the answer, and if he did anything like it, Carol would kill him anyway. 

 

“You did the most important thing a man can do, Zachary,” Murphy said as he moved to kneel so he could catch Zach’s eyes, noticing how his apocalypse-driven adopted son had begun to tear up. “You kept your word to your mother, and came back to us.”

 

“I’m scared,” Zach mumbled, finally meeting Murphy’s eyes. “I didn’t regret having killed Dawn, and I don’t regret having killed Nicholas … and it scares me that I don’t.”

 

Murphy smiled, moving to sit on the bed again but closer to the middle. “I used to wonder the exact same thing sometimes. If I didn’t regret, which I don’t, killing any of the bastards me and Con offed back in Boston. Did it make me just as bad as them? Was I just a merciless killer too?”

 

“But it wasn’t until after Rocco passed when I realized, if I hadn’t killed them they would have been out there hurting more people.” He couldn’t help but remember the pain he had felt as their best friend had died because of their stupidity - because of their pride - as if had been yesterday instead of almost thirteen years before. “If you hadn’t stopped Dawn? There would have been more Beths and Noahs out there hurting because of her.” Murphy could see Zach trying to pretend he wasn’t wiping his cheeks off and he didn’t say anything. “If you hadn’t killed Nicholas? Who knew what would have happened … he could have gotten you, Glenn, or Tara killed the next time either one of you went outside those walls.”

 

Zach sniffed but nodded, taking Murphy’s hand as the older man stood up and helped him get out of bed. “Alright, now help me entertain the kiddies because Carl is god knows where, as usual, and I have two ten year olds and a baby for the rest of the morning.”

 

“You just wanted me to help you babysit. Didn’t you, Murph?” Zach joked as put on a shirt before following the older man down the hall. 

 

“It’s like you actually know me, lad.”

 

-.-.-.-.

 

“I’m not going to even ask how you’re holding up,” Carol said as she accepted the cup of tea Reg passed her before returning to the kitchen where he had set up his own space to chat with Connor. 

 

“I look that bad?” Deanna tried to joke, giving Carol - across the couch from her - a pained smile. 

 

“You look flawless, as always.” The small smile on Carol’s face was full of compassion. “But I know how empty you must be feeling right now, and nothing anyone can say will help ease that all consuming emptiness.”

 

“You’ve lost a child.” Deanna’s words were said in wonder, thinking she knew everything about the new people but being shown repetitively she didn’t.

 

“I did,” Carol sighed. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Deanna responded. “I didn’t know.”

 

“It’s alright,” Carol said with a sad smile. “I didn’t tell you.”

 

“How do you do it?” Deanna asked after a moment of silence, watching as Carol sipped at her tea. “How do you go on? How do you make the pain stop?”

 

“You don’t.” Carol reached out, taking one of Deanna smaller hands in one of her own. “You find something to hold on to; you grab onto it with all your strength, and you don’t let go.”

 

Deanna sighed, using her free hand to wipe the tears running down her cheeks. “Can I ask?” She tentatively met Carol’s eyes. “What did you hold on to?”

 

“My husband.” Daryl’s heartbreaking sadness as he sat with her in Dale’s RV without saying a word flashing through her mind, how he had no idea how to comfort her, but he had saved her by just being himself. “He was the one who kicked my ass into gear and helped me survive after Sophia.”

 

“She had a beautiful name,” Deanna said softly, squeezing Carol’s hand. 

 

“Aidan was a brave boy,” Carol answered, feeling like she just had to say something good in return. “Offering himself to go out there, on the runs.”

 

“He was an impulsive naive little shit,” Deanna grumbled, chuckling. “But he was my son, and I loved him.”

 

Carol smiled at the other woman’s words. She looked over her shoulder at a serious looking Connor, she understood Deanna’s sentiment perfectly; she loved her impulsive jackasses of husbands she had … faults and all.

 

When she turned again she was met with Deanna’s smile, a more genuine one this time around. “You should go, it’s your day off and you should spend it with your family … enjoy your time together.” The dooming  _ while it lasts _ not said but clearly implied.  

 

“I wish I didn’t have to bring this up now,” Carol said, real shame in her words, “but we know about the situation with Pete and Jessie.”

 

Deanna closed her eyes for a moment, the hand Carol had been softly gripping slipping from her grasp so the older woman could run it through her hair. 

 

“We have been keeping Sam with us the last couple of nights,” she admitted.  “He’s terrified, and I promised we would help him and his mom.”

 

“I had hoped it would get better.” Carol wasn’t surprised, she knew Deanna was more than aware of the current living situation of the Anderson family. “You’ve known for a while? Since the party?”

 

“I had my suspicions,” Carol stated. “But it wasn’t until Sam talked to me a couple of days ago that I knew for sure. He reminds me of Sophia.”

 

“I thought you said Connor wasn’t-”

 

“My first husband was Sophia’s father. Connor would never harm me or any of my kids … ever.” Deanna nodded, her back relaxing after having tensed up suddenly at the mere thought of one of Carol’s husbands laying a hand on her. “We know you’re in an impossible situation with Pete; we understand that.” Carol patted Deanna’s hand which rested between them on the couch. “But we want to offer Jessie protection. My boys will not allow Pete near her or Sam and Ron.”

 

“And if he does?” 

 

“If he does, they will warn him at first, but if he harms them …”

 

“I cannot condone murder, you must understand that,” Deanna stated meeting Carol’s eyes. 

 

“If we do nothing, that would be the same as condoning Jessie’s murder.” 

 

“You don’t know if it will come to that!” Deanna ducked her head as she noticed Reg’s attention shifting back to them as her voice rose. 

 

“Jessie installed a lock on the inside of Sam’s closet. She tells him to hide there, lock the door, and don’t come out until morning whenever she and Pete start fighting.” The implications of what could have been happening as the sweet boy had to sleep inside his closet was not lost to either woman. “About two weeks ago, Sam heard them stop yelling so he disobeyed and came out. He found his mother passed out on the kitchen floor bleeding from her head as his father smoked a cigarette outside on the porch.”

 

Deanna sighed, hands going to her face as she tried to think past the grief of losing her son. She was still their leader, and leaders had to put their own feelings aside and lead; no matter what it takes.

 

“What if he doesn’t take the hint? What will your boys do in that case?” Carol could see Deanna wasn’t ready for the answer Carol had for her. She was too green, too protected by the walls … too innocent for the world they had suddenly found themselves thrust into .

 

“They will do nothing. You will.” Deanna raised her eyebrows in surprise at Carol’s words. “You exile him. You first let the community know about the divorce, and how spousal abuse will not be tolerated.” Carol watched as Deanna followed her words closely. “And how a repeat offense will be punishable by exile.”

 

“And when he tries again, because believe me, men like him never change ...” Carol sighed trying to forget how scared she had been when she had been the one in Jessie’s place. “Then you will exile him.”

 

“You’ll let him say goodbye to Ron. We’ll give him a backpack with enough provisions for a few days, and then a couple of our people will drive him fifty miles out with a blindfold on and then they’ll leave him there.” She left out the part when once those fifty miles are reached - since it was her boys who would probably would be driving - Pete would be executed. 

 

“Why the fifty miles?”

 

“We had some bad experiences with people coming back and trying to kill us.” Deanna nodded, probably making a mental note about it already. 

 

“When will you talk to Jessie?”

 

Carol smiled over the rim of her teacup. 

 

-.-.-.-.

 

“Give me water,” Daryl ordered Aaron as he just opened his arm towards were he thought the other man was standing guard. The need to pound Aaron to the ground for having seen his moment of weakness - him bent in half as he vomited his meager breakfast - was strong. If there was one thing Daryl Dixon hated, it was to be seen as weak, especially since weakness was always thrown back to his face somehow. 

 

Aaron passed him the bottle, keeping his gaze on the horizon as Daryl used the water to wash his mouth. It wasn’t like he had never seen worse than a woman tied to a tree left to be eaten alive … her entrails hanging from her raped naked body. But all he could think about as he had moved the girl’s - because she had been young - was his wife and daughter. 

 

All that ran through his head from the moment he had seen her was their names in repeat. He could feel his chest hurting as he tried to control his breathing, he couldn’t let it happen out there, he couldn’t let his anxiety - Carol had put a name to the feeling - take over right then. He had a family to get back to. 

 

“Let’s get her down,” Daryl grumbled as he passed the water bottle back to Aaron, not waiting for the other man’s answer as he got his knife out and started cutting the ropes tying the girl to the tree. 

 

They worked diligently and silently as Aaron moved to catch the now dead walker as Daryl freed her. They had nothing to use to dig a hole to bury her. 

 

“I’m sorry this happened to you,” Daryl murmured as he set her on her side, before taking off his vest and jacket. Aaron watched silently as Daryl took off his long sleeved shirt, leaving him in only his white undershirt, and placed it over the dead girl, covering her as best as he could. 

 

He was barely able to keep up with Daryl when he grabbed his discarded jacket, vest, and crossbow and stormed away as if he couldn’t stand to stay a minute longer around the remainder of what had happened mere hours before their arrival. 

 

They walked in an angry energy charged silence for miles. Daryl’s pace never wavered, a predator after prey … and Aaron had no idea what they were hunting. 

 

It took hours for Daryl’s relentless stride to tire, and even then the man just pushed them harder. Aaron was breathing hard by the time Daryl stopped by a fallen log and took a deep breath as he finally sat down. 

 

“They had the same markings as the walker we found near Alexandria,” Daryl said, his voice rough as if he had been smoking and drinking for long hours - something it was obvious, Aaron knew, he hadn’t done. “The ‘W’ on the forehead,” he stated as he moved his finger mimicking the sign over his own forehead. 

 

Aaron had completely forgotten about it during the whole ordeal. “Do you think there’s some kind of relation between them?”

 

Daryl shrugged, moving to pick his crossbow up, checking the wires. “I don’t believe in them, coincidences.” Daryl finally looked at Aaron, a slight blush on his face. “About what happened back there …”

 

“You got a wife and a daughter,” Aaron said, a sad smile on his face. “I get it.”

 

Daryl gave him a sharp nod, silently contemplating the space around them. He had been in a rush to get as far away as they were able to, but they hadn’t been traveling directionless. The man they had been tracking was closer now, and as soon as Aaron was ready they would continue their pursuit. 

 

He just hoped the man had better luck than the girl in the woods. 

 

-.-.-.-.

 

“If I ask you where you’ve been, is your answer going to give me a fucking ulcer?” Murphy asked without looking up as he continued following Carol’s instructions for preparing dinner. “Because your father might not be good at keeping tabs on you, lad. But you have to remember that I’m not him.”

 

Carl sighed as he took off his hat, dropping it on the island in the middle of the kitchen before climbing on a stool. “Sorry, Murph.”

 

“Carl,” Murphy said as he turned around to look at the boy. “You need to stay in the fucking house.” His tone was serious, as was his face … the whole image broken by the fact that he was wearing only jeans and one of Carol’s frilly aprons. 

 

Murphy’s frown deepened when instead of causing Carl to look apologetic, the boy just burst out giggling. 

 

“I mean it, you tosser!” Murphy barked as he banged the pot he had in his hand on the stove, hissing when some of the hot contents splattered his bare arms. “I’m actually fucking serious, lad!”

 

“Sorry,” Carl mumbled, trying to stop the occasional chuckle as he traced patterns on the island’s cold marble.

 

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed you’re disappearing God knows where during the day,” Murphy grumbled as he turned off the fire on the stove, turning his full attention back to the kid sitting dejectedly in front of him. “I just worry about you. You know that, right?” 

 

Carl nodded, raising his face to give Murphy a small smile. “I know Murph. It’s just …”

 

“Just talk to me, lad.” Murphy walked around the island, sitting on the stool beside Carl. “You know I’m here for you; we’re best buddies.”

 

“I thought your brothers were your best friends.”

 

“Silly boy,” Murphy said as he ruffled Carl’s hair. “They’re my brothers, but you’re my kid.”

 

Carl smiled shyly at Murphy as he chuckled. “Thought you had adopted Zach for that reason.”

 

“Pffft. We adopted each other first, didn’t we?” he asked, his hand motioning between the two of them.  Carl’s smile grew as he nodded, remembering those months at the prison when Murphy had been there for him while his dad had dealt with his own issues. 

 

Comfortable silence fell upon them, as they sat side by side in peace. Zach and Connor had decided the kids couldn’t stay the whole day inside and had taken the out for a walk while Murphy took care of their food.

 

“There’s this girl …”

 

“Ohhhhh, shite!” Murphy exclaimed grinning as he turned his body to give Carl all of his attention. “But you’re fourteen! When I was fourteen all I cared about was football and school.”

 

Carl gave Murphy and incredulous look. “Do you want me to tell you or not?”

 

“Yes, right. Shutting up now. So there’s this girl …”

 

-.-.-.

 

The garage door was open. 

 

The plan had been set in motion, and after leaving the boys back home since they knew Pete was at the clinic during the day, Carol was on her mission to talk to Jessie. 

 

A mission she knew was one of the most difficult ones she’d ever set out to accomplish. She could still remember how it had been her - in Jessie’s position - not too long ago. Carol could still remember how the abuse felt, and how it used to make her feel. 

 

She could still remember how every punch Ed threw at her felt like it was causing her very soul to break. And he had almost done it. Ed Peletier had been close to breaking her more than once, if she was being honest, but in the end she had been lucky. Lucky enough that a walker found him in his tent, and he had been too much of a useless tool to protect himself. 

 

Carol knew now, almost two years after the abuse stopped and her heart mended, she was stronger than he had ever been. If the walker hadn’t happened, she was sure she would have still survived; she would have still been here. 

 

She had been able to survive the greatest heartbreak she had ever known, losing Sophia; anything else was a walk in the park in comparison. If for some reason, Ed had been able to survive the attack on the quarry, she knew - based on what she knew now - Daryl would have eventually stepped in. Her husband, her sweet incredible husband, had already taken notice of the situation and by his own confession had already mentioned to Merle the need to help her. 

 

The universe helped her before he could do anything, though. 

 

And even Shane, who had initially looked the other way - like everyone at the quarry did at first - had stepped up when the abuse had been visible for all. But it was always easier to do it like that, to step up when people would judge you if you didn’t.  Carol knew coming to Jessie like she was doing was going to be harder, because as long as it was kept in the dark people could pretend it wasn’t happening. 

 

The victim could pretend it wasn’t really happening. 

 

Jessie was sitting on a workbench, the remainings of the owl she had been building with Sam just to the side. 

 

“Hey,” Jessie said as she took a drag of her smoke. “Is everything alright? Do you need me to take Sam back tonight?”

 

Carol smiled, shaking her head as she approached the younger woman. “Sam’s a sweetheart and we’re happy to have him stay with us for as long as he wants.”

 

Jessie smiled, although Carol could see the sadness behind it. The other woman hoped her son could stay away from the nightmare they lived every day inside their own house … but she knew eventually the boy would have to go back, and she was already hurting on his behalf. 

 

“I’m glad he agreed to go with you,” Jessie sighed, flicking her cigarette to get rid of the ash. “He always has trouble making friends. I’m glad Mika is getting him to open up.”

 

“Well, don’t be too happy about that,” Carol said as she moved to sit beside Jessie on the bench. “I’ve had to reel Mika in a couple of times, she’s becoming too much like the boys for Sammy to handle.”

 

Jessie laughed, shaking her head as she took a deep drag of the cigarette before putting it out. “I don’t smoke much, especially not in front of the kids.” 

 

“I’ve had to fight for it, but our home is smoke free even with three chainsmokers.” The two women chuckled, before a tense silence fell upon them. 

 

“Jessie -”

 

“Tara is in good hands with Pete,” Jessie interrupted before Carol could finish her sentence. “I heard that your boy’s hand might have some permanent damage. I hope that he won’t though … he’s such a sweet boy.”

 

“That’s my Zach; he’s as sweet as a Georgia peach.” 

 

Jesse chuckled, and Carol noticed her hands were shaking as the younger woman went to push some of her hair behind her ear. She knew … Jessie knew the reason Carol was there and she was terrified. And Carol had been where she was before … once, only once. She hadn’t been able to take that chance, but she was not going to let Jessie commit the same mistake she had so many years ago. 

 

She could feel both of them trembling as Carol took Jessie’s hand in hers. 

 

“I married my first husband, Ed, right after I finished high school.” Carol had to make a pause to take a deep breath before continuing. “My family life hadn’t been the best, and he was a little older than me with a steady job. I was a naive small town girl and I fell for him head over heels.”

 

“I’m not going to tell you I wasn’t happy with him, because I was. We had some good twelve years of a steady marriage, where the worst that happened to me was for him to break a few glasses or slam a few doors if things didn’t happen like he wanted.” 

 

Carol could feel as tears began to form behind her eyes, but she didn’t make a move to stop them. If she did, she wasn’t sure she would be able to continue her story. “I had some issues with getting pregnant, and now I realize those years of marriage where he didn’t hit me? There was as much abuse going on as when he did begin getting physical.”

 

“It was subtle though; he started controlling our money to the point where I wasn’t allowed to buy anything if he hadn’t approved the purchase, I started losing the few friends I had because he controlled my time to the last second … what I wore, what I cooked. Everything.”

 

“Then he started losing control. It was usually something I did which caused him to hit me … it was always my fault.” Slowly Carol moved her right arm to Jessie’s line of sight - which was fixed on their joined hands - to show her some of the scars she bore on her arms from years of Ed’s abuse. “He would cry and ask for forgiveness, the first few times, while saying how it had been my fault and telling me I should not make him angry.”

 

“The worst part was that I believed him.” Her voice was breaking and she could feel her breathing catch inside her chest as if the need to sob out was greater than the need to breathe, but Carol pushed on. “I believed him and I stayed. I stayed long enough to get pregnant and lose one baby after another because of his blows. I stayed past my beautiful daughter making it to this world and past teaching her how to hide inside her closet, to be quiet until the morning broke.”

 

“I stayed past almost dying and leaving her alone with the monster her father was.” Carol was openly crying, shaking as she finally was strong enough to raise her face and turn to look at Jessie. “I stayed past the walkers and leaving our home, and the fear keeping me by the monster I had married … it was the catalyst of losing the most perfect thing I had in my life.”

 

“Jessie,” Carol’s voice broke as she pleaded to the other woman. “Please let us help you get away from the real monster in your life. Please don’t let him be the reason why you lose the most precious thing you have … your life, your sons lives.”

 

“But what could you do?” Jessie’s voice was small, as tears ran down her cheeks. “Lock him up?”

 

Carol chuckled, a smile appearing on her face as she wiped her cheeks with her free hand. “My boys will protect you. I will protect you. He won’t hurt you anymore.” Jesse snorted in disbelief, trying to pull her hand away from Carol’s but was unable. “My boys are more dangerous than your husband could ever be, We will keep you and the boys safe … I promise.”

 

“Why do you care?” Jessie asked, her voice barely audible as she looked at Carol in amazement. 

 

“Because I love Sammy, the sneaky little shit has burrowed himself into my heart. And we MacDixons … we protect our own.”

 

Jesse’s face broke as she started crying, allowing Carol to pull her into her arms as she continued to sob into the older woman’s shoulder. The matriarch of the MacDixon clan knew what she was going through, the feeling of having been seen for once … of someone answering the loud cry that no one had seemed to have been listening to.

 

“We’re going to get you out of here before he comes back from the clinic, alright?” Carol said as she pushed Jessie back to help her wipe her cheeks a few minutes after, once her sobs had began to soften. “Just get a couple of changes for you and the boys, and we’ll get you settled in our home in no time. I already have Murphy working on dinner for everyone.”

 

When Jessie smiled this time, Carol saw the same smile she had seen on Sam’s face a few days ago. The first real smile she had seen from Jessie since they had met. With a deep breath, and without letting go of Carol’s hand - like she was drawing strength from the older woman - Jessie pulled them further into the house and one step closer towards her personal freedom. 

 

“Are you sure about this?” Jessie asked softly as she stopped by the staircase, dropping Carol’s hand. “We can probably ask Deanna for a house of our own. I don’t really want to cause any inconvenience.”

 

“Jessie,” Carol said, a small smile on her face as she put her hands on the other woman’s shoulders. “We lived with a lot less. We want you with us, we want you three to become part of our family. We will protect you … and you know the best part?” Jessie shook her head. “We will teach you how to protect yourself.” 

 

“Protect herself from what?” 

 

Carol didn’t need to turn to know who was standing at her back, Jessie’s terrified face telling her everything she needed to know. She had to close her eyes for a moment, centering herself, knowing what she was going to have to do. The cold metal of her knife’s handle giving her the confidence to continue on her task. 

 

“Jessie, sweetheart,” Carol said in her overly sweet ‘I can’t hurt a fly voice’. “Can you please go and get what we were just talking about. I’ll wait for you down here.” Her blue eyes never left Jessie’s face, until the younger woman finally met hers. The small nod Carol gave her seemed to be what made Jessie unfreeze and run upstairs to do as she had been told. 

 

“Where the fuck- ”

 

Carol whirled on Pete as he made to move past her, her knife suddenly in her hand the tip too close to Pete’s junk for the man’s liking. “Is she going?” Carol finished the sentence, a shit eating smirk on her otherwise tear-stained face. “She’s going to live with me and my family. Her and the boys.”

 

“She’s  _ my  _ wife!” Pete yelled, trembling with rage as he sneered down at Carol, taking a step closer before hissing as the knife poked him in his most sensitive area. 

 

“She’s your punching bag, not your wife.” Everything Carol wished she had been able to tell Ed suddenly ran through her head. How much of a monster he was, how much better she was without him, how much she hated him. But this was Pete not Ed, and she had to keep that in mind at all times. “And she’s not going to be either one of those things anymore.”

 

The air was dense with tension as the old clock on the mantle ticked with every second it took for Jessie to get her things together. Neither Carol nor Pete relinquishing an inch as they stood almost chest to chest. 

 

Finally Jessie ran downstairs, a backpack thrown over her shoulder as she looked warily at the scene in her living room. 

 

“We’re leaving,” Carol said firmly, walking backwards after motioning to Jessie to go ahead keeping Pete in her sights at all time. “And you’re not going to follow, anything you want to say to her, you go to Deanna first.”

 

It was the mere thought of having to go through another woman to speak to his wife which apparently broke Pete’s control. With a scream of rage he threw himself to try and move past Carol towards were Jessie stood frozen in fear. 

 

He didn’t even feel Carol’s knife slashing his side as she slammed her body against his, causing them to crash against Jessie’s china cabinet. Both staggered to their feet, blood dripping on the wooden floors, Carol always making sure she kept herself between Pete and Jessie at all times. 

 

“Jessie,” Carol said, clearing her throat as she wiped some of the blood from her cheek, “go outside and get Rick. Don’t let my husband know what happened yet though.”

 

Jessie looked from Pete - who looked like an angry bull - to Carol, both of them bleeding although Carol still had her now dripping red knife out and poised to strike. 

 

“Jessie, now!” 

 

“What? Not so sure of yourself now, bitch?” Pete scoffed as he took a step closer to Carol, making her retreat a step back. “Afraid that your pansy ass husband won’t be able to take me?”

 

Carol laughed, taking yet another step closer to the door. Closer to be able to turn around and run as soon as she was sure there was some backup near. She knew her odds, and unless she went for a kill - which she had to try and avoid at all costs with them barely being in Deanna good graces - Pete had the advantage on her. Even if she turned and ran, his longer strides meant he would be able to catch her, not far from his house. 

 

She needed to stall until Rick arrived. 

 

“I’m afraid if any of my boys see what you did to me, you’ll be dead,” she said with a smirk before turning and dashing to the front door

 

Pete caught up with her just as she ran through the front door, sending them tumbling down his front porch. Carol’s head hitting the last step before they both ended up sprawled on the front lawn. 

 

Her head was buzzing as she suddenly saw the looming figure of Pete standing above her, just before he suddenly disappeared from her sight. Carol closed her eyes to try and stop the spinning, the need to puke her guts out overriding any other thought right then. 

 

She just hoped the whole world would stop spinning sometime soon. 

 

-.-.-

 

They didn’t know what was going on. But nowadays to see someone running usually meant something was going down, and to see Rick and Jessie running meant the thing going down had something to do with them. And they had to do something about it. 

 

Connor, Zach, and the kids had been on their way back home from taking a stroll around the community when the commotion started. With a quick order to Mika, the little girl took baby Judith’s pram and trotted towards their house. Judith would be safe with Mika for the time being, while him and Zach worked out what was really going on. 

 

The scene that greeted them made Connor’s vision turn red. 

 

He and Murphy hadn’t been brought up by a conventional woman. Their Ma had taught them early on - after little Murphy had gotten his ass kicked by an older girl when they were six - women could be as vicious as any man. He had seen this reflected in every one of the women traveling with his family, how they were as strong as any of the men … if not pound by pound then in strength of character. 

 

His wife was the strongest of them all. And she had demonstrated once and again how she could handle things on her own, how she could single-handedly save all of their collective asses. 

 

So to see her heaving her now empty stomach onto the Anderson’s front lawn, as her blood dripped below her; it made him see red. He was going to kill the son of a bitch Rick was fighting not ten feet away from his wife. 

 

Connor was going to murder the bastard who had dared to put a hand on his wife, he was going to kill Pete Anderson and there was no Alexandrian law that would be able to stop him. His mind couldn’t think of anything other than killing the man punching his wife away from him as Jessie tried to make him stop fighting with Rick. 

 

And he would have done so. There was no doubt about it. He would have done so if his beautiful wife had not called for him. 

 

“Connor,” Carol gasped as she tried to get up from where she was on all fours, staggering back towards the ground. Connor barely able to catch her before she face-planted on the gravel leading up to the porch steps. 

 

“Hey, hey,” Connor murmured, dropping to the ground and pulling her into his arms. “It’s all good, I’m here. I’m here, love.” 

 

Carol sighed in relief, just before she pushed Connor away to turn and heave again on the grass. Everything was turning, and she closed her eyes as she felt Connor pull her back into his arms. They were safe, Connor was there. Everything would be alright now.    

 

“What happened?” Connor asked as he got to his feet, his wife in his arms. 

 

“Hit my head on the step,” Carol murmured, eyes still closed as the world finally decided to stop turning. “Where’s Jessie?”

 

It wasn’t until then, as Sam wrapped himself around Connor’s waist to look at Carol to make sure she was doing alright, when Connor looked to see what was going on around them. His attention had been on his wife, and his wife only, so he had lost track of what had happened.

 

“Murph?” Connor murmured, confused, making Carol open her eyes to peer at what had her husband so dumbfounded. Murphy had apparently appeared from God knows where and had been the only one capable of separating Rick and Pete; he still had Rick in a hold as Tobin and Spencer had grabbed onto Pete to keep them from fighting. 

 

With a grunt, Rick pushed Murphy away, huffing like an angry feral beast who was hungry for blood. 

 

“Put me down, Cookie,” Carol ordered him, a slight tap on his shoulder returning his attention to her. “I think I’m good.”

 

“Good? The fucking jackass slammed your head to the fucking ground!” Connor barked as he allowed her down, his arm still around her waist, keeping her close. “I’m going to kill the son of a bitch!”

 

“You will do not such thing, Connor Cronan MacManus!” Carol chastised him, some of the strength of her words lost as she swayed against him. Connor snorted, sneering at whomever dared to even look at the three of them. 

 

Jessie meanwhile was looking lost across from them. It wasn’t until Carol extended her free hand - the one which wasn’t wrapped around Sam - that the younger woman seemed to break out of her fear-induced paralysis and hurried to pull her scared son into her arms. 

 

“Jessica! Come back here!” Pete bellowed as he continued to pull against his restrainers. “That’s my wife!”

 

“Shut the fuck up!” Connor yelled as he pushed Carol onto Zach’s arms, taking a step to stand in front of the women as Pete managed to pull away from Tobin and Spencer. “You are not to talk to them, you’re not to look for them … fuck, if it was up to me you wouldn’t even be breathing the same air as they do.”

 

He could feel as Carol grabbed onto the back of his shirt, fisting it as if to keep him from moving forward. He was trembling with rage, the mere idea of the man standing in front of him daring to put his hands on his Carol almost causing him to snap. To know his wife was standing behind him, broken and bleeding was too much for him to handle. 

 

“You have no right!” Pete yelled as he took a step forward. A step which made Murphy and Rick suddenly appear at Connor’s side. “They’re my family!”

 

“I’m not yours to hurt anymore, Pete...” Connor smirked as he moved to the side so Pete could look at Jessie’s resolved face, “never again.”

 

“You’ve heard the lass, asshole!” Murphy called, a smirk on his face as he took a step closer to the other man. “So fuck off! She’s one of us, and we don’t put up with anyone hurting one of our own.”

 

“What my sweet brother means is,” Connor said as he confidently walked towards Pete, looking up as he stopped when they were close enough to touch. “You ever put a hand on my wife again, or on your former spouse, you’ll wish you had never been born.”

 

“That’s enough, Connor,” Deanna said as she finally pushed her way between the two. “We don’t condone physical altercations, nor threats of any kind in this community.”

 

“With all due respect, ma’am, it’s not a threat … it’s a promise.”

 

Deanna gave Connor a look, to which he raised his hands in response before walking back to stand in front of his woman. 

 

“Everyone listen, and listen closely.” The people around them shifted on their feet as Deanna started to address the greater audience. “Here in Alexandria we will not tolerate any kind of abuse any longer, those who from here on are accused of it shall stand trial.”

 

The look Carol and Deanna shared was lost to almost everyone around them. 

 

“Too long we have stayed in silence. We knew what was happening and instead of extending our hand to help those who needed it, we allowed the standing of the person committing the abuse to take precedence over the life of his woman and children. But no more. From now on, if anyone is accused of committing something as atrocious as any type of abuse, they shall stand trial. A trial which will give them one last chance to confront the accusations, and if they’re found guilty to be sentenced to exile.” 

 

Murmuring among the Alexandrians started immediately after Deanna finished her spiel. The look of fake compassion on their faces making Carol’s stomach churn. “Come on,” she said softly as she pulled on Connor’s shirt, “let’s get home … Murphy has probably burnt our dinner by now.”

 

“Oh shit! Dinner!” 

 

Carol couldn’t help but smile as Murphy suddenly took off towards their home and Connor pulled her close, dropping a kiss on the side of her head. “You’re such a badass,” he murmured as they slowly were the first ones to leave the scene of the altercation. 

 

“Stop,” Carol answered as she let most of her tired body rest against him, knowing he would never let her fall. “Rick!” Carol called behind her, as they continue to walk back home. “You better get your ass here, your daughter needs to be fed!” 

 

Rick shook his head as Carol’s voice pierced the buzzing around his head, turning to follow the rest of his family back to their home. Deanna had spoken; they were safe for now. He had his daughter to feed.

 

“Daryl is going to blow a gasket when he sees you like this,” Connor grumbled as he carried her up their steps and into the kitchen where Murphy was cursing up a storm around his cooking. “He’s going to kill us for letting something happen to you while he was gone.”

 

“Just let me handle your brother,” Carol said before hissing as the first of the antiseptic - which Murphy had readied as soon as he got back just for her - touched the bleeding skin of her face. “He’ll know better than to say ‘you allowed me’ to do anything.”

 

“True,” Connor said as he softly blew on her small wound to try and help with the sting. “Do you think …” he stopped just before he went to clean the next glass caused scratch, “do you think Jessie will stay?”

 

It was not a secret among them that she had gone back to Ed more than once after leaving him ‘for good’. There were no secrets among them and they all knew about her past mistakes. They also knew how hard it had been for her to get him out of her head, to get Ed out of her life for good. 

 

“Maybe, I hope so.” 

 

The night found them sitting around the dinner table, all except Ron who had missed the altercation and refused to accept their new accommodations, going back to sleep in his room at his father’s house. But as Carol saw Sam grin at his mother as he took a huge bite of his food, she knew all the pain in the world would have been worth it if it meant Sammy was one of them for good.    

 

Daryl would just have to deal with the new members of their family once he got back. 


	13. Conquer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It only took me 369 days to finish this... not bad, huh?
> 
> Special thanks to my amazing beta CharlotteAshmore for being her awesome self.

**Chapter XIII**

**Conquer**

  
  


If any of his brothers ever asked, he would always deny it because he wasn’t a whiny little bitch. But ... he missed Alexandria, he missed his home so much it made his heart clench and his eyes sting. 

 

He might have found some sunglasses to cover his clear sky blue eyes, but behind them he was trying hard not to let Aaron notice how much he was missing his family after only two nights away. The whole thing made his stomach churn. This had been the longest he had been away from them ever since they separated after the prison fell. And he didn’t want to repeat that ever again. 

 

Something on the side of the road caught his attention, making him signal Aaron to stop. His own bike slowing down to an almost smooth stop. 

 

“Son of a bitch!” Daryl groaned as he tumbled down the side of the road, barely able to miss his bike landing on his leg. Instead he toppled to the ground, feeling like the air had been knocked out of his lungs. With a groan, he got off the ground, patting his clothes to try and get some of the dirt off him. 

 

“Smooth,” Aaron snickered as he got out of the car, his rifle in hand. 

 

Daryl just flipped him off as he straightened his bike, before checking his precious crossbow wasn’t worse for wear. Thankfully, to everyone involved, his second love - after Carol of course - was safe and sound and if Aaron didn’t open his mouth no one would have to know about his little accident. 

 

“There’s something out there,” Daryl grumbled as he pointed further into the forest, “let’s go check it out. Maybe your recruit came through here.”

 

There were no more words said as Aaron followed Daryl, trying to be as quiet as he could. After all, he had gotten sick of getting yelled at by the grumpy archer for being loud enough to be heard back in Alexandria without the need of a radio. 

 

The sound of a stick breaking underneath Aaron’s shoe made Daryl look back and glare. 

 

“Sorry,” Aaron muttered before following. It was going to be a long day. 

 

-.-.-.

 

The night had not gone as planned. 

 

The boys had swept Carol away after she had made sure Jessie was settled in Mika’s bed. They had ended up playing some kind of musical chairs with Zach and Carl sleeping on the pull out couch, while Mika and Sam shared what had been their room.  

 

And for a few hours, peace had reigned. 

 

Until Pete started trying to kick down the door at four in the morning. The man had been so wasted, he had in fact been kicking the wall instead of the door, making enough noise to get them all up but had no actual chance of ever getting in. 

 

That was until Rick opened the door, to try and diffuse the ordeal and got slammed into the door frame for all his worry. 

 

“Where is my wife?!” Pete slurred as he took two steps into the kitchen. 

 

“Keep the kids away,” Connor muttered as he pushed past all the worried adults - Carol, Murphy, Michonne, and Jessie - and the protective teenagers who were standing between Pete and the staircase, to stand half naked in front of the taller man. 

 

“I told you once already I wasn't going to stand for this, asshole.” Pete squinted, looking like he was having a hard time focusing on the Irishman standing in front of him. “It’s not a fair fight, because you’re fucking drunk … but I don’t fucking care because it was never a fair fight when you hit your wife.”

 

Pete didn’t even have a chance to react before Connor was landing a right hook to Pete’s body, making him lean down as a reflex, putting him at the perfect height for Connor’s uppercut. 

 

Jessie jumped when Pete’s body landed unconscious on the floor.

 

“Can someone go get Deanna?” Connor asked as he stepped over Pete’s prone body towards the stove, taking the kettle and filling it with water. “We need her to see this.”

 

Zach nodded, stepping around Pete’s form, before leaving to get the leader of the community. 

 

“Tea?” 

 

The hand Carol had over her mouth was the only reason she was able to stifle her laugh, although judging by the twinkle in Connor’s eyes as he met hers, she had not been able to fool him at all. “My hero,” Carol crooned as she reached Connor’s side, her arms around his waist as she leaned in to kiss his naked shoulder.   

 

“I shouldn’t have let Sammy see that,” Connor murmured as he watched Murphy shoo the kids back upstairs, sending Carl to watch over them. 

 

“To be honest,” Jessie added as she moved towards the inside of the kitchen island, where Carol knew the entrance was out of sight. “I think he needed to see that, as did I.” 

 

Carol smiled at the younger woman from Connor’s arms. “You’re safe with us, we promised he would never touch you again.”

 

Jessie nodded, accepting the cup Murphy passed her as soon as the kettle started to whistle. “If it hadn’t been my brother, I would have stepped up. That’s for sure.”

 

“Of course you would have, Muffin.” Carol’s voice was full of sweetness, pulling Murphy to her free side. “You’re our hero as well.”

 

The sound of a muffled sob made the three of them jump as they turned quickly to look at the source of the crying. Jessie was muffling the sound by keeping her hand over her mouth so tight it was starting to turn white. 

 

“Oh, sweetheart,” Carol murmured as she moved close enough to embrace the crying woman. “It’ll get better, I promise,” she whispered against her head as she ran her hands up and down her back. 

 

“Sorry,” Jessie mumbled as her cries quieted down, and she pulled away from Carol, wiping her cheeks. “It’s just, seeing you …”

 

“I know,” Murphy answered the unsaid statement. “Connor is ugly enough to make anyone cry, but we love him, so we put up with his grisly mug.”

 

Murphy’s smile widened when Jessie giggled while still wiping snot and tears from her face. “It has been a burden I’ve had to live all of my life, Jess.” Carol couldn’t help but shake her head as she molded herself to Connor’s side once again while watching Murphy’s antics. “Being the more gorgeous twin - now triplet - isn’t easy, but someone has to live with the hardship.”

 

“You and Daryl are identical twins.” Connor was having a hard time trying to keep his tone flat and a smile off his face as his brother continued with his rant. 

 

“No, we aren’t. Daryl only dreams he could be as handsome as I am.”

 

“You dream you had Daryl’s shoulders and arms.” Connor couldn’t stop the bark of laughter which left his body as he heard Carol’s words. “I dream you had those shoulders and arms, if I’m being honest.”

 

“I knew it!” Murphy knew exactly what he was doing as he grabbed Carol by the waist, yanking her from Connor’s embrace to raise her so her feet didn’t touch the floor. “You only want us for our bodies!”

 

It wasn’t until then they all remembered the newest member of their family hadn’t been properly introduced into what their relationship really was. 

 

Carol rolled her eyes as her husbands looked like deer caught in the headlights, before looking calmly at Jessie and explaining. 

 

“I guess I will have to eventually find my own set of triplets?” Jessie joked as she smiled at her three saviors. 

 

“Please don’t, we have more than enough for life with one set ,” Michonne added as she joined them in the kitchen. “Just to let you know, Rick and Deanna are speaking outside; she wants to speak with all of you.”

 

Jessie squared her shoulders, not giving her now groaning former husband a look as she walked past him to join their leader on the porch where she had been getting the rundown from Rick. 

 

If Carol had been able to get through it all - abusive husband, losing her daughter, living outside the walls - Jessie was sure she was going to be able to make it through as well. A small smile appeared on her face as she looked back over her shoulder at the three people still watching over her from the kitchen . She had good people in her corner, strong people. She could be strong for herself and for her sons, especially with them behind her. 

 

Life had certainly gotten more interesting since they’d arrived in Alexandria. 

 

-.-.-.

 

“Someone came through here a while ago.”

 

“If we see them, we hang back and set up the mic.”

 

“That mic shit is fucking creepy,” Daryl grumbled as they continued following the other person’s trail. “Feels like we’re one of those creeps that spied on girls while they were in the gym showers.”

 

Aaron chuckled. “Were you one of those creeps?” 

 

“Pffft. I think the first woman I ever noticed in  _ that  _ way was my wife.” Aaron’s eyebrows rose behind Daryl, interested in the new information he got from his friend. “Never understood the need to do all of those things.”

 

Aaron didn’t know if Daryl was talking about the original topic - spying on girls - or if it was about what spying on those girls entailed. And to be honest, while they made their way through the woods, Aaron didn’t really care. Daryl was the first person in a long time who hadn’t judged him, who hadn’t made a big deal or treated him any differently after he found out about Eric … so there was no need for him to know or to pick on a topic which was none of his business. 

 

“We’ll just listen and observe …” Aaron grimaced. “You’re right … It doesn’t make it sound less creepy.”

 

Daryl snorted, shaking his head as he moved some branches to go through. “Just don’t bring it up as quickly as you did with us … almost got your ass beaten for it.”

 

“Don’t be a creep. Noted.”

 

“So …” Daryl jumped onto a small flat stone to avoid getting his boots wet in the small stream. “How long do we keep creeping on them?”

 

Aaron shook his head, following the footsteps of the redneck. “Until we know. We have to do it until we’re sure.”

 

“When did you know with us?” 

 

Aaron shrugged, wincing as he slipped on a rock and felt as his socks started to get wet. “It wasn’t just one thing … but by the time you were done with those dogs, Eric and I just knew.”

 

The dogs; Daryl had almost forgotten about the dogs. It wasn’t as though he had never gone hungry before, even before the turn, but it had made his chest hurt to hear Mika’s stomach grumbling like it was going to eat itself. Those dogs had been their salvation. 

 

“We were thinking about leaving you guys food,” Aaron continued. “But I’m glad we didn’t. You guys would probably not have eaten it.”

 

“Rick can be a little ...“

 

“Overly cautious?” Aaron tried to help when Daryl drifted off. 

 

“Paranoid.” The deadpan tone making the younger man snort. “He sometimes has difficulties separating friend from foe.”

 

There was no need for Daryl to expand on it since Aaron had been a victim of Rick’s difficulties not so long ago. They, as a group, just wished he knew when to back down; he was sure some of their biggest conflicts would have been avoided if Rick just knew when to delegate some of the need to protect everyone. 

 

“I kind of understand being overly cautious,” Aaron murmured after a little while. “It never hurts to be sure.”

 

“You guys had some trouble? Had to send some people away?” Daryl knew of Deanna’s hatred for violence from his scouting partner, having been brought up to date on the rules of their community not long after their adventure started. 

 

Aaron’s silence was more than enough answer. 

 

“What happened?” Daryl asked softly as he stopped to take a look at their surroundings, trying to find their person’s trail again. 

 

“It was early on. Two men and a woman; their leader was called Davidson … smart man, strong. It didn’t work out. I had to bring them in, and then escort them out.”

 

Daryl nodded, listening to Aaron as he continued tracking. “Me, Aiden, and Nicholas; we drove them out, far, gave them one days worth of food and water … and just left them.”

 

“And they just went?”

 

“We had their guns. We had all of their guns.” Aaron stopped, sighing as Daryl looked back at him. “I can’t make that kind of mistake again.”

 

“Well, pal,” Daryl said as he put his crossbow down so he could rub his freezing hands together. “You were lucky.”

 

“Lucky? I just told you I had to abandon three people to their death!”

 

“At least they didn’t come back.” 

 

Aaron watched as Daryl turned back and started walking again. There was a story behind Daryl’s words, and he would eventually get it from the taciturn man. 

 

For the time being, they had a job to do. 

 

-.-.-.

 

“You have to stop.”

 

Rick tried not to flinch as Carol’s warning reached his ears just as he was about to knock on Michonne and Jessie’s door. 

 

“She’s dealing with a whole bunch of bullshit right now. Don’t make it harder for her than it needs to be.” Carol of course omitted the other reason why she wanted Rick to stop sniffing after Jessie. The newly divorced woman and Michonne shared a room now … and no one had missed any of the longing looks Michonne threw Rick’s way whenever his back was turned. Carol hated to think her friend would get hurt in the crossfire … especially when the last thing on Jessie’s mind, at the moment, would be getting into another relationship. 

 

“I wasn’t-”

 

“You were,” Carol interrupted, touching Rick’s arm gently. “But now is not a good time.”

 

Rick nodded, looking sadly at the closed door for a moment, musing. What was it about Jessie Anderson which evoked feelings in him he’d thought long dead after Lori’s death? Why her? Why now?

 

“Come on, loverboy,” Carol called softly to him. “Get something to drink before you do something stupid.”

 

“Sometimes I wonder,” Rick said as he moved to follow her as Carol made her way downstairs. “Who has changed the other the most? You or the boys?”

 

Carol smirked as she moved to get two glasses and their only bottle of bourbon from the cabinet. “I like to think we’ve helped each other to become better versions of ourselves.” Rick was looking at her in wonder as she served both of them a couple of fingers of spirit in the glasses. 

 

She pushed it towards him slowly, nodding as he took it and brought it up to his lips. The woman across the kitchen island was a wonder to Rick, and she probably always would be. Carol had gone through so much, not only after the dead started walking, but also since before it had all begun. 

 

For Rick, Carol back in the quarry had been nothing more than a nuance, someone who had allowed her husband to step all over her without fighting back. As he watched the woman in front of him take a sip of her own glass, he wondered if she knew how sorry he was. 

 

“I never told you …” Rick said softly, his eyes fixed on the countertop. “But I’m extremely grateful you’re here with us.”   His eyes finally raised to meet Carol’s, giving her a soft smile. “I don’t know what we’d’ve done without you.”

 

“Fuck things up, probably.” The tension Rick’s words had built up immediately dissolved as both of them laughed at her words. 

 

“Yeah. Probably.” 

 

“You can’t act like a teenage boy, Rick,” Carol admonished him. “You have to think with your brain, not with your dick.”

 

Rick could feel as his face started to redden, not knowing how to answer to this version of his friend. A friend who had befriended his wife, during the women’s worst periods of their lives. 

 

“It’s just …” Rick sighed before he drank the last of his bourbon. “After Lori passed … I never, I never-” 

 

“You never thought you would feel this way again. You never imagined there would come a time when someone else might interest you in  _ that  _ way.” Carol tried not to laugh at the look on Rick’s face as she put into words what he was feeling, probably in better words than he ever could have. “I know the feeling,” Carol said softly as she rested her hand over Rick’s. “I know how it feels to think you will never feel happy again … but as corny as it sounds, time does heal all wounds.”

 

Rick snorted, smiling at who - in the end - had been Lori’s best friend. “She would have hated me going after a blonde.” He couldn’t help but chuckle as he saw Carol smile.

 

“Rick …” The smile and teasing on Carol’s face had disappeared and in its place was the serious facade of someone who was not playing games anymore. “Time heals all wounds, and what Jessie needs right now is time to heal. The worst thing she could do right now is to jump into something right now … if not for her, then for you and the kids.”

 

“Moooooom!” Carol snorted as she heard Mika’s cry just before the sound of something smashing on the floor made them wince. “Sam let Snake climb onto the bed.”

 

“No, I didn’t!”

 

“Duty calls.”

 

-.-.-.

 

“What’s he doing?” Aaron asked as he looked through the lens of the equipment he used to spy on them. Watching as the man in the red poncho they had been following covered himself in some kind of mud. 

 

“Wild leeks,” Daryl murmured from beside him, dropping the binoculars. “He’s a smart son of a bitch; he knows how to keep mosquitoes off of him.” 

 

Daryl tried not to let his mouth raise in a small smile as he felt Aaron’s incredulous gaze on him. “Seems simple, but when you’ve been bitten by forty of those little assholes, you’ll be crying to me about wanting some wild leeks.” He hated to admit it, but Aaron was certainly growing on him.

 

“Sounds disgusting.”

 

Daryl shrugged, grabbing onto the gear they had at their feet to try to continue following their possible recruit. “Let’s go.” The grass was tall, and Daryl tried to keep his eyes open for any type of dangers around them. Sometimes it was hard to imagine there were other dangerous things out there other than walkers … but in this world, to get bitten by a snake meant in the end the same thing as getting bit by a walker. A one way pass to the greater beyond.

 

“You were surprised …”  Aaron’s musings made Daryl stop, looking over his shoulder at the other man before starting his trek once again. “When I told you about when we sent people away.”

 

Daryl didn’t say anything, silence he had learned tended to get people talking more than any question he could ask. He just shrugged and continued on his way. 

 

“You never had to send anyone away?”

 

“We tried,” Daryl murmured, making a face as he heard the whispers of a rattle he didn’t want to discover if it was coming from a snake or not, changing directions away from it. “The kid deserved it.”

 

“He came back?”

 

“Never got a chance to. There were … complications.” Daryl made a face to himself at his own words, happy Aaron kept a steady pace behind him and was unable to see him. 

 

“But someone did … came back?”

 

Daryl sighed, stopping for a moment before turning to look at Aaron. “Look. Just know you have been extremely lucky, and don’t question it.” With an angry huff, and a renewed strength on his step Daryl walked away from his new friend. 

The idea of someone else, someone who was trusting him to keep him alive out there, was made aware of his shortcomings when it came to his search for the Governor … the idea made his heart clench and his chest hurt. To think about the one person who did came back, who came back and destroyed everything they had … it made his head spin. If only they had found him, if only they had killed him when they’d had a chance. 

 

His family had tried to teach him, the past is past. But it was in these cases where he couldn’t help but think it wasn’t. The past had shaped them into who they were now; and who Daryl was now had taught him never to let an enemy walk away. Especially not if they were as bad as the Governor had been. 

 

Randall … they could have dropped him off somewhere and nothing would have happened from it. But there were people who shouldn't be given the opportunity to come back; they had given Blake one, and he had destroyed them. 

 

Daryl could hear Aaron trying to catch up with him as he trotted through the high grass. They needed to catch up with the red poncho wearing prick sooner rather than later … he couldn’t wait to get home. 

 

-.-.-

 

“Heard you had a pretty exciting morning.”

 

Carol sighed, giving Maggie a look as she continued to change the wet clean clothes from the washing machine to the dryer. “News apparently travels fast around here.”

 

“Well, it doesn’t hurt when you work for who is basically the mayor of the town,” Maggie said as she took the basket full of dry clothes from Carol, walking with it to the living room. “So … Deanna made the decision; we’re having a town meeting tonight to talk about Pete’s possible exile.”

 

“Possible? So, it means it’s not yet settled?” Carol grumbled, as she started folding some of Connor’s briefs. “What needs to happen for her to make a decision? Does he needs to kill us?”

 

“We’re the new people here, Carol.” Maggie made a face, choosing to fold a shirt instead of underwear. “Too much has happened since we got here, she needs to allow the town to hear for themselves why she’s proposing exiling the only doctor we have.”

 

Silence fell upon them as they continued to fold the clothing, tension was growing and it was visible to Maggie in every twitch from Carol’s hands. 

 

“I know,” Maggie said softly, moving to touch the back of Carol’s hand softly. “I know how hard it’s going to be, but I’m going to talk to people and …”

 

“And I’m going to have to talk to Jessie about speaking up tonight,” Carol finished with a sigh, already hating her own appointed task. 

 

“I think she would take it better coming from you.”

 

“Everyone always thinks that, and I don’t think I believe it.”

 

-.-.-

 

He had fucked up. He had fucked up badly. 

 

Daryl wanted to bang his head against the wheel of the car as the walkers around it clawed at the glass trying to get to them. He’d had a bad feeling about the whole ordeal, but he hadn’t been able to say no to his new friend. 

 

And now they were going to die. 

 

He could feel his chest tightening, but he tried to calm himself down. It was no time for a panic attack, no time at all if the note crumpled between the seats Aaron had found was real. The same people who had carved the ‘W’ on the walker Carol killed a few miles from Alexandria, the same people who had tied the poor girl against the thee  they had found the day before … they were coming for them. 

 

And Daryl was sure he would rather die by putting one of his own bolts through his head, than to allow those sick bastards to rip him apart and leave the rest for his family to find. 

 

Aaron was looking as panicked as Daryl felt, and he didn’t want to feel comforted by it … but in a way he was. They were going to die unless they came up with some kind of plan, and fast. 

 

But there was no way out. Every single plan he came up with, every idea his brain threw at him, he just knew there was no way out. They were trapped, and unless some kind of miracle happened; this lot would be their tomb. 

 

Daryl hadn’t even realized he had scoffed, until Aaron turned to look at him and asked him. “What?”

 

He sighed. What? There were so many things he could answer to that simple question. So many things to say, so little time left. 

 

“I don’t even know why I came out here,” Daryl grumbled, a sad smile on his face as he avoided looking at Aaron. “Part of me felt trapped inside those walls, but part of me never wanted to leave them either.”

 

“Them houses weren’t something that felt like me … but my family made it feel like home, ya know?” Daryl didn’t dare turning to look at Aaron, knowing he wouldn't be able to deal with the emotions if he looked at the other man. He was such an asshole, he was going to break Carol’s heart.

 

Slowly, Daryl took out a cigarette from the inside pocket of his vest, lighting it up before taking a deep breath. “Murphy is going to fucking curse me to hell for fucking shit up.”

 

Daryl smirked as he offered the lit cigarette to Aaron, bringing it back to his mouth when rejected. “He refused to speak from the moment I told them I was leaving.”

 

“You were trying to find your place.”

 

“The thing is - “ Daryl chuckled, “I already have a place. My place is at their side, always. And I was too much of a jackass to allow myself some fucking happiness for once.”

 

The silence that followed made Daryl shake his head chuckling. “Pretty messed up, don’t ya think?”

 

Aaron smiled sadly at him, giving him a knowing look. “We all make mistakes. You were right, we should have kept  looking for the guy with the Poncho. I shouldn't have given up; you didn’t.”

 

Daryl knew Aaron wasn’t talking about giving up their chase, he knew what they had all gone through. Aaron had seen them at their lowest and witnessed firsthand how they had kept pushing on, for one another. 

 

“I couldn’t … I have too much to lose to give up.” Daryl closed his eyes as he let the nicotine calm his nerves, there had to be a way out of the position they were in… there just had to be some way for him to get back to his family. 

 

“It was my fault,” Aaron said, bringing Daryl out of his inner musings. “I will lead them away and you can make a run to the fence.”

 

“No.” Daryl grabbed Aaron’s arm as the man turned to get in position to make a break for it. “We do not leave people behind, we do not do that to family.”

 

“You have a lot more to lose than I do, Daryl. You said so yourself.”

 

“Someone once told me ‘The world we know is gone, but our humanity? That’s our choice’ … I’m not sacrificing you just so I can go home to my family while Eric mourns you.” 

 

Aaron smiled. “Then let’s do it together. Let’s make a run for the fence, and whether we make it or not … let’s do it, together.”

Daryl nodded, taking a last long drag of his cigarette before putting it off on the upholstery. “Alright, let’s do it. We go on three.”

 

Someone hurried their counting along. Just as Daryl finished counting two, a walker’s head exploded just as the door to Aaron’s side opened and a black man hurried them along. 

 

Daryl’s heart was beating a mile a minute, his breathing laboured as he and Aaron shared puzzled looks after they had made it outside. 

 

They were alive, they were unbitten … and apparently they had found someone who had been following them from Georgia?

 

His life was a mess, he just hoped no one told his wife and brothers how close he had been to actually dying that day. 

 

“Who are you?” Daryl asked in wonder at the man who had saved them. All life was precious, had been his reason for risking his own life for a couple of strangers; making the man even more suspicious in Daryl’s eyes. 

 

“I don’t want any trouble; I’m just trying to find my friend.” 

 

Daryl passed the map to Aaron, for him to see what he himself had seen written down in it. 

 

“What’s your friend’s name?” Aaron hurried to ask, looking at how warily Daryl seemed, trying to figure things out before they found themselves in crosshairs with their savior. 

 

“Rick, Rick Grimes.”

 

-.-.-.

 

“Murphy!” 

 

The sound of his name being called made the middle MacDixon stop what he was doing and turn around, just in time to stop Mika from barreling right into his sde. 

 

“Murphy!”

 

“What’s wrong, princess?” 

 

“Ron and Carl are fighting!” 

 

“Son of a bitch!” Murphy growled before taking off towards the school building. 

 

It was just after lessons were done for the day for the older kids,  and he knew they had to be somewhere close. Connor exiting the building told him to keep running, knowing his brother would join him without needing him to say a thing. 

 

There was no need to explain the situation to his brother once they reached them since the two boys were still trading blows by the time the brothers arrived. Without a second thought, Murphy moved, grabbing Carl by the waist and hauling him away from Ron, holding him close to his chest as he continued to trash against him. 

 

“Deputy, calm down now!” Murphy growled, grunting when Carl’s elbow landed on his stomach. “Now!”

 

“I’m going to fucking kill you!” Ron yelled at Carl, trying to look over Connor’s shoulder. “You better watch your fucking back!”

 

“Hey. Hey!” Connor yelled at the boy when he tried to get past him once again. “Calm your fucking ass down! No one is killing anyone!”

 

“Fuck you!” 

 

“Well… fuck you too, you little twat!” 

 

Murphy had to keep a stern face as he watched Ron sneer at Connor, flipping him off just before turning on his heel and walking away. Carl finally settled down once the older boy walked away. 

 

“Would you mind explaining what the fuck the fight was about?” Murphy asked exasperation clear in his voice. “Does everyone have to get into a fight now and I wasn’t told or what the fuck is going on?”

 

“He was being an asshole,” Carl answered as he moved to get his hat from where it had fallen when the fight broke out. “It’s nothing.”

 

“It’s definitely something, lad.” There was blood in Carl’s face, making Murphy wonder how long the fight had actually lasted. “You never get into any fights.”

 

“I know how to fight!” 

 

“And that’s not what I said,” Murphy said calmly, putting a hand over the back of Carl’s neck as they started slowly walking back home knowing Connor would give them the space they needed. “You know I trust your strength, deputy. Now … would you tell me what that was about? Or will I have to let Carol know what happened here?”

 

The panicked look on the boy’s face made Murphy smile. “Then?”

 

“I caught him on his way to our place. He had been running his mouth about his mom and Carol earlier with the other guys …”

 

“And how do you know this?”

 

“Enid told me.” 

 

“Enid? As in the girlfriend?” Carl winced as he made a face causing his busted lip to bleed more profusely. “And are you sure of this?”

 

“She said Ron told her it was all Carol’s fault and …”

 

“And?”

 

“I just had to, Murph.” The older man knew Carl wasn’t telling him the whole story, but he remembered what being a kid was like, and a kid needed his own space. “You know I wouldn’t have done it if he hadn’t deserved it.”

 

“I do know that.”

 

“Then believe me.”

 

“You need to strengthen up, though.” The smile appearing on Carl’s face made Murphy grin as well. “You are scrappy, but you’re still thin as a twig. We need to get Carol to fatten you up.”

 

“And what happened to you?” 

 

Murphy and Carl both looked like deer caught in the headlights as Rick looked down at them from where he had been standing on the porch, one of his eyebrows raised in wonder. 

 

“Ran into a tree.” The two answered exactly at the same time without missing a beat. 

 

“Go inside and get cleaned. You’re staying with the kids while we go to the meeting.” 

 

Rick tried not to look shocked when Carl nodded and did as he was asked without complaining. 

 

“Is something wrong with him?” The wonder in the former deputy’s voice making Murphy snort. 

 

“He’s a good kid.”

 

“That he is,” Rick agreed with the middle MacDixon as they both watched Carl make a run for the stairs to try and avoid Carol’s fussing over his bleeding lip. “Your wife is looking for you. Please try and be on time for the town meeting.”

 

“Can’t promise anything, you just said the magic words.”

 

“You are disgusting.” 

 

“My wife doesn’t think so.”

 

-.-.-.-

 

“Are you cold, love?” Connor asked Carol as he moved his chair closer to hers, draping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close as he felt her tremble. 

 

“Don’t worry, my heart. We’ll keep you warm,” Murphy added from her other side, sliding closer so she was nested comfortably between the two of them.

 

The courtyard was slowly filling up with most of the adult population of Alexandria. Jessie had arrived with them, together with Michonne, and had taken a seat in the center of it all. 

 

“Is she ready?” Connor whispered to Carol as she rested her head against his shoulder, her gaze on the nervous woman as they waited for the assembly to start. 

 

“She is. This morning pretty much sealed it for her. She believes us, and she’s willing to fight for herself now.”

 

“I think we’re going to start,” Deanna said suddenly, standing up from her seat between her husband and son across the fire pit from them. “I know there are people missing, but it’s time we start.”

 

“Where is Pete?” 

 

No one made a sound. 

 

“I guess we’ll start anyways. In case anyone doesn’t know, which I doubt is the case, the reason for the Assembly is to determine Pete’s continuation as part of this community.” 

 

Instead of looking at Deanna, Carol chose to look at the people assembled around them. Their family was there, with the exception of Rick, Gabriel and Sasha. Pete was also missing, but it did not come as a surprise, if she was really honest. The man was a coward, and he would never be able to face being put into place publicly. 

 

He also probably thought it would all blow over. 

 

“Pete was allowed to abuse his family under our own noses for far too long. He attacked another member of our community, Carol, yesterday when she was helping Jessie leave him.” 

 

Carol burrowed her face into Connor’s chest as she felt the eyes of the crowd shift from Deanna to her. The proof of her scuffle with Pete was obvious for everyone to see. 

 

“When he was told to stay away from Jessie and her family under penalty of exile, Pete found himself seeking them out early morning today. Connor was very diligent in keeping him from harming anyone else.” 

 

They all knew what was going to happen now. Deanna had explained it to them when they first arrived; she would allow anyone who wanted to make their peace. People would be encouraged to speak up and share their thoughts on the situation. However, only she would  have the last word on what Pete’s destiny would be, once everyone had said their piece.  

 

“Now, we’re going to hear from our community before a decision is reached about the fate of one of our own. We’re going to talk about our doctor, Pete Anderson. We’re going to talk about what he did, and about what he tried to do this morning.”

 

Murphy’s hand sneaked to entwine with Carol’s as they saw the first person stand up to speak in Pete’s favor. Somehow, it felt like they were seeing people stand up for what Jessie had gone through, standing up in favor of the abuse she had suffered under Pete’s hand. 

 

People would talk about how important he was to the community. How incredibly stupid it would be to exile their only doctor; how he should be given a second chance. 

 

Carol’s eyes never left Jessie, feeling a fire burn stronger and stronger with every person who dared to defend the monster haunting poor Jessie and Sam. 

 

“I want to say something.” Connor frowned when he heard his wife speak up after Tobin had made a small speech about just wanting to keep his family safe. “May  I?” 

 

“Go ahead,” Deanna answered motioning for Carol to begin. 

 

“I know we haven’t been here long, and for many of you, we have caused more trouble than we are worth. But … no one, no matter what world it is out there, should be living the way Jessie and her boys have been living.”

 

“It’s very easy to turn your head to the side and pretend you didn’t know what was going on. It’s so easy to pretend not to care about what’s going on behind closed doors, but I’m sorry we can’t do that.”

 

Carol’s eyes were on Jessie, drawing strength from the other woman’s pain. 

 

“I couldn’t see a woman going through what I had endured, and say nothing, do nothing. I’m sorry if that goes against what you all think in this community … but Sam and Jessie are part of our family now … and we take care of our own.”

 

“Carol,” Deanna said, interrupting whatever Carol was about to say. “I have to be honest with everyone out here and let them know what Gabriel told me not so long ago.” At Carol’s nod, Deanna continued. “Gabriel came to me a few days ago and told me how Rick and his group were not to be trusted, how they were not good people.”

 

There was a small amount of murmuring among the original Alexandrians, as they gave distrusting looks at their newest additions. 

 

“But I also have to make clear, that was Gabriel’s opinion. There is nothing Rick Grimes, or any member of his family, has done to make us distrust them. They brought back my son when his own friend was ready to leave him behind to die, they helped a woman and her sons get out of a dangerous home situation and -”

 

The appearance of Rick in the middle of the courtyard carrying a body over his shoulder stopped Deanna from continuing her spiel. 

 

“Someone left the front gate open,” Rick grunted as he dropped a dead walker in the middle of the meeting. “This is why we want people to stand guard all the time. Walkers and people both will get through somehow.”

 

“I told Gabriel to close the gate!” Spencer exclaimed as he looked shocked at the dead body in front of him. “I swear.”

 

“Go to the gate. Now!” Deanna’s words were taken as they were, as an absolute order with Spencer running to stand guard at the gate immediately. 

 

“I checked everywhere, but we have to be careful for the next few hours. Everyone should be careful. I killed three of them, but more could have came through.” 

 

Carol noticed Maggie sneaking out through the back, probably going to face Gabriel about being so careless. 

 

“We don’t want to take over this place. We just want all of you to be safe, for us to be safe.”  Carol was extremely proud of Rick, keeping his head cool and not losing his shit on the useless residents of Alexandria. They had certainly come a long way from when they were at the prison. “But to be safe out there, we first need to be safe within our walls. 

 

“And having someone like Pete here, someone who can raise a hand on someone weaker than him, isn’t the right way to do it.”  Rick stopped his spiel to give Jessie a small smile before putting his attention on Deanna. “We can help all of you become stronger; you just need to trust us.”

 

The smile on their leader’s face made Carol’s anxiety wind down. Deanna had learned to trust them, they had showed her over and over again how they were doing the right thing. How they were willing to make sacrifices for the greater good. 

 

“Trust you? How can we trust you when you all won’t stop lying to us?” 

 

Everyone’s eyes turned to look at Ron, who was standing at the courtyard entrance pointing a gun in the general direction of Carol and her boys. The boy’s hand was shaking as he turned the gun on the side, probably doing as he had seen countless rappers do in music videos. 

 

“Ron?” Jessie asked, jumping to her feet only to stay back as Connor moved an arm to keep her behind him. “Ron, put the gun down.”

 

“No!” The boy’s voice broke as he yelled at his mother. “They need to know who’s in charge! They have done nothing but fuck things up!” 

 

“Ron, please put the gun down,” Rick said in his best officer voice, his hands out trying to calm the raging teen. The moment Ron realized Rick had taken a step forward, the gun was immediately on the former police officer. 

 

“Why? So you can take it from me and destroy my family? I know you want to fuck my mom; I see you looking at her.” 

 

With a look from Connor, Murphy knew immediately what he was supposed to be doing. Slowly, he moved in front of Carol, keeping her behind him as Connor started walking slowly closer to the distraught teen. Their priority was their family, and the kid was too much of a loose cannon for him to be anything other than a danger to them all. 

 

“Ron, where did you get the gun?”

 

Connor could hear Carol’s gasp as the teenager’s attention moved from Rick to him, but he just hoped she knew how much he loved her. He was doing this all for them, no one wanted a kid’s blood on their hands. 

 

“What? Like it’s fucking hard?” Connor could see from the side of his eye as Abraham slipped through the back entrance, probably to try and catch the kid from behind. They only needed to keep him occupied, and it all would be alright. 

 

“You’re right, we should keep our guns somewhere safer. Maybe you can teach us how you got in? That would be extremely helpful.” Connor’s voice did not waver as he tried to keep it calm and steady as he saw the boy’s breathing quicken . 

 

“It won’t help you once I put three fucking bullets in you!” Ron yelled, as tears streamed down his face while his hand shook, making Connor fear he would drop the gun at any given moment. Connor tried very hard not to let his temper get the better of him, the need to smack the little asshole over the head was extremely strong. 

 

“But why? You’re mad because we helped your mom? We only wanted to help you and your mom, that’s all we wanted to do.” His own hands were shaking, and he could feel sweat run down his back as he took small steps closer and closer. 

 

“Help us? You fucked everything up! Everything was alright! My dad said he was going to stop! He promised!” Ron’s voice was breaking as he cried out the words, his whole world falling in front of their eyes. 

 

“Ron, come on, lad.” Conor was close enough the gun was pointed straight to his chest. “How many times had your dad said something like that? Just before he smacked your mama around?”

 

“He said it was for real this time,” Ron said looking up at Connor, who was now standing close enough to tower slightly over him. He was looking like the little kid he really was, a little kid who wanted to believe the man he had always looked up to. The man who had broken him and made him grow up before he was supposed to. 

 

“They always say that,” Connor said softly, making a hand motion to stop Abraham from moving any further behind Ron. “They say they’re sorry and promise they will never hurt you again … but they always do.”

 

Ron pouted as he shook his head, lowering his arm as he did so. “He promised.”

 

“Lad, I promise,” Connor said softly as he pushed Ron’s arm even lower before he pulled the kid into his arm in a tight hug. “I won’t let him hurt you anymore. I swear.” 

 

The sob wrenched from the teenager’s chest broke Connor’s heart, as the teenager hugged him close and started crying into his shoulder. He had no idea where Ron’s gun had ended up, but at the moment he didn’t really care, the boy in his arms taking precedence over anything else. 

 

“Oh Ronnie!” Jessie cried as Murphy finally let her move, running to drape herself around her crying son’s back leaving Connor to handle both of their weights against him as they cried into each other. 

 

“I’m sorry, Mama,” Ron whispered brokenly as he turned, burrowing his face in his mother’s chest and continuing to cry. “I’m so sorry.”

 

“It’s alright, baby. It’s alright.” 

 

Connor smiled as he moved back, watching as Jessie took Ron’s face in her hands and caressed her son’s hair back as he continued to ask for her forgiveness. The kid was hurting, badly, but he seemed to finally get it. They weren’t the enemy, they weren’t trying to hurt him or any of them on purpose. Ron just didn’t know anything other than the abuse. 

 

And going into an unknown situation was scary even to the best of them. 

 

“What has happened here tonight,” Rick said raising his voice so everyone could hear him. “Has shown us how easy is for someone to get a hold of our weapons. It’s only showing everyone what we already know … we’re not ready.” His voice was steady and strong as Carol hadn’t heard it since the farm. “We’re not ready for the people from outside who will want to hunt us, and they will want to kill us. But we won’t let them, we’ll kill them. You are not ready, but we will teach you.”

 

“You’re not one of us!”

 

“Pete, please,” Jessie said as she pushed Ron behind her, taking a step closer to her former husband. “Calm down.”

 

“They’re not one of us!” Pete sneered as he pointed the gun in his hand first to Rick, before moving it towards Connor. “They’re not!”

 

“For fucks sake!” Murphy muttered moodily. “Didn’t we just go through this already?”

 

“Shut up!” Pete yelled as he took off the safety on his gun, taking a step closer to the people assembled around them. “I’m going to kill you!” he growled, waving his gun as he motioned to all the people surrounding them. “I’m going to kill all of you.”

 

The next seconds would run through Connor’s mind in slow motion for the rest of his life. He watched as Rick and Abraham moved to tackle Pete to the ground in perfect sync, as the man took another step closer to Alexandria’s constable. The sound of his body hitting the ground sounding like angel’s to the irishman’s ears. 

 

Connor would recall later never hearing the sound of Pete’s gun going off. All he would remember was  the pain of the bullet lodging on his shoulder. When asked about it, he would honestly say he hadn’t felt anything other than pain … pain and anger. 

 

“Son of a bitch!” Connor yelled as he felt the bullet enter his body, grunting as he felt Carol’s arm around him as he took a step back in shock at having been shot. “The asshole shot me!”

 

“Mom? Mommy? Mom!” 

 

It took Carol a moment to realize the blood suddenly on the ground wasn’t coming from her husband. 

 

“Mommy?!” Ron’s broken voice as he clung to Jessie’s unmoving body barely registered on Carol’s mind as she applied pressure to Connor’s wound with her bare hands. 

 

She didn’t even register the sound of the second gun going off as Deanna ordered Rick to do what he should have done from the beginning. Ron’s cries for Jessie drowned the sound of the shot which killed his father. 

 

“What the fuck is going on here?!”

 

Daryl’s gruff voice felt like a balm for her soul, giving her the strength to help Murphy move Connor closer to his other brother so Daryl could help carry him to the infirmary. 

 

They weren’t going to lose anyone else this night. She refused to let Pete take anything else from them. Carol refused to allow someone like Pete who was an embodiment of everything her old life meant, to take one of the best things her new life had. She was not losing one of her husbands over him. She was not losing one of her husbands  _ ever _ . 

 

-.-.-.

 

“Fuck it! This fucking was a fucking fucked up day,” Murphy muttered as he looked at the sleeping form of Connor, pale and lying on his back on the right side of their bed. “So fucked up.”

 

“If you dare to wake him, I will castrate you.” 

 

Not even Daryl’s snort at Carol’s words made any of them muster up a smile, the events of the night weighing heavily upon them. 

 

The moment Pete’s gun had gone off, Daryl had started to run. They had barely been inside the gates - on their way to the courtyard - when the sound made him fear the worst. A thought he still felt was deserved since one of the worst things in his book had been what he had encountered.  

 

Daryl had arrived to see his big brother’s chest bright with blood as their wife tried to contain the bleeding while Murphy looked paler than death. The feeling of hopelessness as he rushed to his family’s side was something out of a nightmare, a nightmare he thought he had left behind in Atlanta after they’d watched their wife get struck by a car.

 

But it seems like life still had ways to bring his worst fear to life. It felt to him that as long as they were alive, the universe would find ways to try and take away his family from him. 

 

“He’s going to be alright, love,” Daryl whispered, pulling Carol into his arms as they laid down, closing his eyes as he felt her sag against him. “He’s good; Rosita was able to patch him up without a problem.”

 

According to Rosita, the wound wasn’t as worrisome as it had seemed at the beginning. It did bleed a lot, but  it wasn’t enough to be a real cause of concern;  the bullet had lodged close enough to the skin for her to be able to get it out without causing much additional damage. 

 

The reason why the bullet didn’t pierce deeper being one none of them wanted to think about. The death of a young mother felt like a hard price to pay for another chance at a new day with their family intact. 

 

“We have to take care of Sammy,” Carol whispered against Murphy’s hair as she found herself snuggled to his back, in between Daryl and him as they gave Connor as much space as they were able to on their king sized bed. “We have to try and take care of Ron as well.”

 

The bullet shot accidentally from Pete’s gun had gone through the side of Jesse’s neck just before hitting Connor’s shoulder, slowing it down enough for it not to be a fatal blow for the older MacDixon … although not being the same for Sam’s mother. 

 

“The poor baby is all alone now.”

 

“He’s not,” Murphy whispered as he brought Carol’s hand up from where it was resting against his stomach to give it a soft kiss . “He has us, we’ll take care of him.”

 

Daryl wasn’t sure what had happened to make them the kid’s guardian since there hadn’t been a real chance to talk things over. Apparently a lot had happened during the few days he had been out with Aaron. But between rushing Connor to the infirmary, calming down Carol once they were given the news about Jessie, and getting them all home … there hadn’t been any time to get him up to date. 

 

They hadn’t even talked about the choice Rick had made about not telling Sam right away. Carol had been too emotionally tired to process what Rick had explained to them when they’d arrived, and it had been decided they were going to let the constable be the one to tell the kid about his mother’s passing. 

 

It might be selfish of Murphy and Daryl, but they knew Carol did not need the emotional weight of that burden. Rick could put on his big boy pants for once and face what he had done. Ron had been brought in to the infirmary just as they were almost finishing with Connor, passed out and put into a bed by Abraham. 

 

Ron was another loose end they would have to face come morning. But they would deal with it later. As Murphy turned off the lamp on their bedside, and as dawn threatened to light up their room, Daryl wondered what the future would bring to his family. 

 

They were banged up, but they were alive. They seemed to be adding even more members to their midsts, but they were together. Their lives seemed to be in constant mortal danger, but they yet lived to see another day. 

 

Sleep finally claimed Daryl as he felt Carol’s breathing deepen in his arms, in turn pulling him into a deep dreamless sleep. Sleep which would be broken not three hours later by a scream torn from little Sammy’s throat as he was told of his mother’s fate. 

 

But for now? For now they could sleep.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The boys will return later this year for season 6. 
> 
> Feel free to drop by my [Tumblr](http://geektaire.tumblr.com) I love hearing from you guys.

**Author's Note:**

> Ya'll know the drill. You can find me in Tumblr as Geektaire


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